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Title Page of Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der
Menschheit, First Edition
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JOHANN GOTTFRIED v.
HERDER
/'
Outlines of a Philosophy of the
HISTORY OF MAN
Translated from the German Ideen zur Philosophie der
Geschichte der Menschheit by T. Churchill
BERGMAN PUBLISHERS
224 WEST TWENTIfiTM STREET / NEW YORK. N.Y. 10011
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Published by
Bergman Publishers
224 West 20th Street
New York, N. Y. 10011
First Published London 1800
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-26785
Printed in the U.S.A.
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Outlines of a Philosophy of the
HISTORY OF MAN
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THE
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
Every one, who is acquainted with Herder, mud be aware of the difH-
culty, if not impoflibility, of transfufing his fpirit, his ' words that burn,' into
anotlier language. To have undertaken a talk fo arduous may be deemed prc-
fumption in me > and no one can be more fenfible than myfelC tliat, in the
execution of it, I am far, very far from having done what I* wiflied, and what
it would have been the height of my ambition to have accomplifhed.
Yet I did not engage in it without the encouragement of one, who can ap«
preciate the merits of Herder j who happily unites a critical knowledge of the
cnglilh language with that of the german i and to whofc kindnefs I am indebted
for the explanation of many paflages, and the improvement of many exprcffions,
as well as fome notes diftinguiflied by the fignature F. I truft, therefore, I
fhall have afforded fome gratification to the englifh reader, and added to our
ftock a valuable book : for furcly all the merit of Herder, all the beauty and
fublimity of his ideas, cannot be obfcured by any tranflation.
For myfclf, at leaft, though laborious, it has been a pleafing toil : mary
moments of bodily pain and mental anxiety has it fweetly beguiled -, and while
it has made my breaft glow with the fervour of virtuous fcntiment, I have al«
moft fclt myfclf the inhabitant of another world. May others feel from the
perufal what I have done from the performance; and then no one, I hope, will
lay down tlie book, without being able to fay, that he is a happier and a better
man.
LoadoD, Not. 15, 1799.
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[ y ]
PREFACE. H^.fv*^
When I publißied ten years ago the little traft> entitled * Another Philo«
fophy of Hiftory for the Improvement of Mankind/ this title was by no means
intended to proclaim, ' ancb' h /on pit tore,' M too am a painter/ It was meant
rather as a Supplement to many Supplements of the prefent Century, and the
fubjoined motto, as an expreflion of humility $ implying, that the author, far from
exhibiting it as a complete philofophy of the hiftory of our Ipecies, merely pointed
out, amid the numerous beaten roads, that men are perpetually treading, one
little foot-path, which had been negleded, and yet was probably worth ex«
ploring. The works quoted occafionally in the book were fufficient, to (how
the wellworn paths, from which the author wiflied to turn his fteps i and thus
his eflay was intended for nothing more than a loofe leaf, a fuppleitient to fup-
plements, as it^s form likewife evinced.
The whole of the impreflion was foon fold, and I was encouraged to prepare a
new edition ; but it was impollible, that this fhould appear before the public in it^»
former ftate. I had obferved, that fbme of the ideas contained in my traä had been
introduced into other works, and applied in an extent of which I had never thought.
It had never entered into my mind, by employing the few figurative expreflions,
the cbildboody irfancy, manhood^ and old age of our fpecies, the chain of which was
applied, as it was applicable, only to a few nations, to point out a highway,.
on which the Ußory of cuürvation, to fay nothing of the pbilofopfy of biflory of
large, could be traced with certainty. /is there a people upon earth totally un-
culdvated ? and how contrafied mu(c the fcheme of Providence be, if every in-
dividual of the human (pecies were to be formed to what we call cultivation,
fixr which refined weaknefs would often be a more appropriate term ? Nothing
can be more vague, than the term itfelf j nothing more apt to lead us aftray,
than the application of it to whole nations and ages. Among a cultivated
people, what is the number of thofe who deferve this name ? in what is their
preeminence to be placed ? and how far does it contribute to their happinefs ?
I fpeak of the happinefs of individuals ; for that the abflra& being, the ftatc,
can be happy, when all the members that compofe it fufFer, is a contradidion>
cr rather a verbal illufion, evident to the flighteft view» /
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vi PREFACE.
If the book, tVierefore, would in any degree anf.ver it's tide, it muft begin
much deeper, and embrace a much wider compafs of ideas. What is human
happinefs ? how far does it cxift in this world ? confidering the great difference
of all the beings upon earth, and cfpecially of man, how far is it to be found
in every form of government, in every climate, in every change of circum-
ftanccs, of age, and of the times ? Is there any ftandard of thcfe various ftates ?
and has Providence reckoned on the well-being of her creatures, in all thefc
fituations, as upon her ultimate and grand objeft ? All thefe queflions muft be
inv^ftigatcd, they muft be unravelled through the wild whirl of ages and
governments, before a general refult for mankind at large can be pro-
duced. Thus we have here a wide field to traverfe, and profound depths to
«xplorc. I had read almoft every thing, that was written upon the fubjeft j and
from my youth every new book that appeared, relative to the hiftory of man,
and in which I hoped to find materials for my grand work« was to me a treafure
difcovered. I congratulated myfelf, that this philofophy became more in vogue
of late years, and neglccbcd no collateral afliftance, that fortune threw into my
way.
An author, who produces a book« be it good or bad, in fom'e mcafure ex-
hibits his own heart to the world, provided this book contain thoughts, which,
if he have not invented, and in our days there is little that is new left for invention,
h«has atleaft/ö«Äi, and made his own, nay which he has enjoyed for years as
the property of his own heart and mind. He not only reveals the fubjefts,
that have employed his thoughts ar certain periods, the doubts, that have oc-
curred to perplex him in his journey through life, and the folutions, with which
he has removed them i but he reckons upon fome minds in unifon with his own,
be they ever fo few, to which thefe or fimilar ideas will prove of importance
in the labyrinth of life ; for what elfe could excite him to turn author, and dif-
clofe what occurs within his own brcaft to the eyes of a rude multitude ?
With thofe he converfes unfeen, and to thofe he imparts his fentiments; ex-
pefling from them in return their more valuable thoughts and inftruftions, when
they have advanced beyond him. This invifible commerce of hearts and minds
is the one great benefit of printing, without which it would be of as much in--
jury as advantage to a Kterary nation. The author confidcred himfelf as in a
circle of thofe, who aftually felt themfeives intcrefted in the fubjeft on which
he wrote, and on which he was defirous of calling forth and participating
their better thoughts. This is the moft eftimable merit of authorlhipj and a
man of a good heart will feel much lefs pleafure from what he (ays, than from
what he excites. He who refle£ts> how opportunely this or that book, or
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PREFACE. vii
merely this or that hint in a book, has fomcdmes fallen in his way; what plca-
furc it has afforded him, to perceive a diftant mind, yet aftively near to him,
in liis own, or in a better track -, and how fuch a hint has often occupied him for
years, and led him on ftill farther; will confider an author, who convcrfcs
with him, and imparts to him his inmoft thoughts, not as one who labours for
hire, but as a friend, who confidentially difclofes his yet imperfedt idens, that
the more experienced reader may think in concert with him, and carry his cru-
dities nearer to perfeftion.
On a fubjeft like mine, /be hlftory of mankind ^ the fbilofophy of their hifloryy
fuch a difpofition in the reader appears to me a prime and pleafing duty. He,
who wrote it, was a man ; and thou, who rcadeft it, art a man alfo. He was
liable to crrour, and has probably erred : thou haft acquired knowledge, which
he did not and could not poffefs ; ufe, therefore, what thou canft, accept his
good will, and throw it not afide with reproach, but improve it, and carry it
higher. With feeble hand he has laid a few foundation ftones of a building,
which will require ages to finilh : happy, if, when thefc ftones may be covered
with earth, and he who laid them forgotten, the more beautiful edifice be but
crefted over them, or on fomc other fpot ! /
But I have imperceptibly wandered too far from the defign, with which I fct
out, and which was, to give an account of the manner of my falling upon this
fubjed, and returning to it again among other occupations and duties of a very
different nature. At an early age, when the dawn of fciencc appeared to my
f]ght in all that beauty, which is greatly diminiihed at the noon of life, the
thought frequently occurred to me, whether^ as every thing in the werld has it's
fhilofophy andjctence^ there muß not alfo he a philofopby andjcience of what concerns
us moß nearly y ofthehißory of mankind at large. Every thing enforced this upon
my mind ; metaphyfics and morals, phyfics and natural hiftory, and laftly reli*
gion above all the reft. Shall he, who has ordered every thing in nature, faid I
to myfelf, by number, weight, and meafure ; who has fo regulated according
to thefe the effence of things, their forms and relations, their courfe and fub«
Cftence, that only one wifdom, goodnefs, and power prevail from the (yftem
of the univerfe to the grain of fand, from the power that fupports worlds and
funs to the texture of a fplder's web ; who has fo wonderfully and divinely
weighed every thing in our body, and in the faculties of our mind, that, when
we attempt to reflcdt on the only-wife ever fo remotely, we lofe ourfclvcs
in an abyfs of his purpofes $ (hall that God depart from his wifdom and good-
nefs in the general deftination and difpofidon of our fpecies, and a& in thefe
without a plan ? Or can he have btended to keep us in ignorance of this, while
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vi« PREFACE,
he has difplayed to us fo much of his eternal purpofes in the inferiour part of
the creation, in which we are much lefs concerned ? What are the human race
upon the whole but a flock without a (hepherd i In the words of the complain-
ing prophet, are they not left to their own ways» as the fijhes of tbefea^ as the
creeping things that have no ruler ever tbemf Or is it unneceflary to them« to
know this plan ? This I am. inclined to believe : for where is the man, who dif-
terns only the little purpofe of his own life ? though he fees as ftr as he is to
fee, and knows fufficiently how to dired his own fteps.
In the mean lime perhaps this very ignorance ferves as a pretext for great
abufes. How many are there, who, becaufe they perceive no plan, peremp-
torily deny theeziftence of one s or at leaft thmk of it with trembling dread,
and doubting believe, believing doubt ! They conftrain themfelves not to con-
fider the human race as a nefl of emmets, where the foot of a (Iranger, himfelf
but a large emmet, cruflies thoufands, annihilates thoufands in the midft of their
little great undertakings, where laftly the two grand tyrants of the Earth,
Time and Chance, fweep away the whole neft, deftroying every trace of it's
cxiftence, and leaving the empty place for fome other induftrious community,
to be obliterated hereafter in it's turn« Proud man refufes to contemplate his
fpecies as fuch vermin of the Earth, as a prey of all-deftroying corruption : yet
do not hiilory and experience force this image upon his mind ? What whole
upon Earth is completed ? What is a whole upon it ? Is not Time ordained
as well as Space ? Are they not the twin offspring of one ruling power ? That is
full of wifdom % this, of apparent diforder : yet man is evidently formed to feek
after order, to look beyond a point of time, and to build uix>n the paft { for to
this end is he furnifhed with memory and refleftion. And does not this build-
ing of one age upon anotlier render the whole of our fpecies a deformed gigantic
edifice, where one pulls down what another builds up, where what never
Jhould have been ere&ed is left (landing, and where in the courie of time all
becomes one heap of ruins, under which timid mortals dwell with a confidence
proportionate to it's fragility ?
I will purfue no farther this chain of doubts, and the contradiftion of man with
himfelf, with his fellows, and widi all the reft of the creation : fuffice it, that I
have fought for apbihßpby ofbißory wherever I could feek it.
Whether I have found it, let this work, but not its firft volume *, decide.
This contains only the bafis, partly in a general view of the place of our abode,
* The original ii is four volumef 8to, which in the preieot tranflation are included in one ;
the Tolttmea, coQuioiog five books each, wer» pablUhed fcpaxael/, and thit prefac« wai prefixed
10 the firft. T«
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PREFACE. ix
partly in an examination of the different organized beings, that enjoy with
us the light of our Sun. No one, I hope, will think this courfe too long, or
beginnmg at too remote a diftance : for, as there can be no other, to read the
fate of man in the book of the creation, it cannot be too carefully or too exten-
fively confideredy/^He, who requires mere metaphyfical fpeculations, may have
them in a Ihorter way : but thcfe, unconncfted with experience and the analogy
of nature, appear to me aerial flights, that feldom lead to any end. The ways
of God in nature, the intentions which the eternal has afhially diiplayed to us
in the chain of his works, form the facred book, the letters of which I have en-
deavoured to fpell, and fhall ftill continue to do fo, mth (kill inferiour to that
of a child it is true, but at Icaft with honefty and 2cal.y/Were I fo happy as to
impart only to one of my readers fomewhat of that Iweec impreiTion of the
eternal wifdom and goodne(s of che infcrutable creator in his operadons, which I
have felt with a confidence, for which I know not a name, this feeling of af-
furancc would be a lafc clew, with which in the fubfequent part of the work we
might venture into the labyrinth of human hiftory. Every where the great
analogies of nature have led me to religious truths, which, though I find it
difficult, I muft fuppreis, fince I would not prematr.rely anticipate, but
£iithfully follow ftep by ftcp that light, which every where beams upon
me fi-om the hidden prefence of the creator in his works. It will be fo much
the greater fadsfaftion both to my reader and to myfelf, if, as we proceed on
our way, this obfcurely dawning light rile upon us at length with the Iplendour
of an unclouded fun.
Let no one be mifled, therefore, by my occafionally employing the term na-
ture, perfonified. Nature is no real endty j but God is all in bis works: this fa-
cred name, however, which no creature, that comes under the cognizance of
our fcnfes, ought to pronounce without the profoundeft reverence, I was dc-
firous at leafl not to abufe by employing it too frequendy, fince I could not in-
troduce it with fufficient folemnity on all occafions. Let him, to whofe mind
the term nature has been degraded, and rendered unmeaning, by many writers
of the prefent day, conceive inflead of it that almighty power ^ goodnefs^ and wif-
dovny and mentally name that invifible being, for whom no language upon Earth
can find an expreilion.
It is the fame when I fpcak of the organic powers of the creation: I do not
imagine, that they will be confidered as occult qualities, fince their operations are
apparent to us, and I know not how to give them a more pi ecife and deter-
minate name. At fome future period I intend, to enter more fully into
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X PREFACE.
thcfe and other fubjeAs, at which I muft here give no more than a cuHbrjr
glance.
In the mean time I rejoice, that this mfantile attempt has been made in an
age, when the hands of mafters have coUeded materials, and laboured in fo many
particular fciences and branches of knowledge, to which it was ncceflary for me
to have rccourfe. Thefe, I am afHired, will not delpi{e the exoteric attempts
of one uninitiated in their arts, but improve them; for I have conftantly ob-
ferved, that, the more real and firmly grounded a fcience is, fo much the lefs
empty altercation occurs among them, who are attached to it and cultivate it.
Verbal difputcs arc left to thofc, who are learned only in words. Moft parts
of my book (how, that a philolbphy of the hiftory of man cannot yet be written,
though it will probably before the end of thb chiliad, if not in the prefcnt
century.
Thus, great being, invifible fupreme diipofer of our race, I lay at thy feet the
moft impcrfca work, that mortal ever wrote, in which he has ventured to trace
and follow thy fteps. It's leaves may decay, and it's charaäcrs vanilh ; forms
after forms, too, in which I have difcerned traces of thee, and endeavoured to exhi-
bit them to my brethren, may moulder into duft ; but thy purpofes will remain, and
thou wilt gradually unfold them to thy creatures, and exhibit them in nobler forms.
Happy, if then thefe leaves (hall be fwallowed up in the ftream of oblivion, and
in their ftead clearer ideas rife in the mind of man.
HERDER.
Weimar» April a3j 1784.
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[ xi ]
CONTENTS-
BOOK I.
CHAPTER. P^«-
I. Our Earth is a Star among Stars ---.-.--- i
II. Our Earth is one of tie mUd/e P/aftets ------- 3
III. Our Earth has undergone many Revolutions ere it became what it ftow
" - - ' ' 1
IV. Our Earth is an Orby which revolves round it^s own Axis^ and in an
oblique direSion towards the Sun -------- 9
V. Our Earth is enveloped with an Atmo/phere^ and is in confliä with
feveral of the celeßial Bodies - - --------ij
VI. The Planet we inhabit is an Earth of Mountains, rifing above the Sur-
face of the IVaters 15
VII. The Direction of the Mountaim renders our two Hemifpheres a
Theatre of the moß fingular Variety and Change 23
BOOK II.
I, Our Earth is a grand Labor atory^ for the Organization of very diffe*
rent Beings 26
II, The Vegetable Kingdom of our Earth confidered with refpedl to the Hif
tory of Man - -- - - ---.-----29
III. The Animal Kingdom in relation to the Hißory of Man - - - - 35
IV. Man is a Creature of a middle kind among terreßriai Animals - - 38
BOOK III.
I. The Strukture of Plants and Animals compared with regard to the
Organization of Man 42
II. A Comparifon of the various organic Powers^ that operate in Animals 48
III. Examples of the phyfiolv^ical StruElure of fome Animals ' ^ ' Si
IV. Of the Inßinäs of Animals 59
V. Advancement of the Creature to a combination of feveral Ideas, and to
a particular freer ufe of the Senfes and JJmis 63
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xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. Page.
VI. Organic Difference between Man and Beaßs - - - - --67
BOOK IV.
1. Man is organized to a Capacity of Reafoning 71
II. RetrofpeSl from the Organization of the human Head to inferiour Crea^
tureSf the Heads of which approach it in Form 82
III. Man is organized for more perfeä Senf esy for the exercife of Art ^ and
the ufe of Language ..--..-.--.85
Vf* Man is organized to finer InftinSlSy and in confequence to Freedom of
JSfion ;• 89
V. Man is organized to the mqfi delicate State of Healthy yet at the fame
time to the longefi Durability^ and to fpread over the Earth - - 95
VI. Man is formed for Humanity and Religion 98
\ll. Man is formed for the Hope of Immortality - - - • --105
BOOK V.
I. A Series of afcending Forms and Powers prevails in our Earthly
Creation - - - - .•--,----.• 107
II. No power in Nature is without an Organ ; but the Organ is in no In-
fiance the Power itfelf that operates by it*s Means - - - - 1 1©
III. The general Compofition of Powers and Forms is neither retrograde^
nor fiationaryy but progreßve 114
IV. The Sphere of human Organization is a Syftem offpiritual Powers - 117
V. Our Humanity is only Preparation^ the Bud of a future Flower - 123
VI. The prefent State of Man is probably the conne£iing Link of two
Worlds 127
BOOK VI.
I. Organization of the People that dwell near the North Pole - - 132
II. Organization of the Nations on the afiatic Ridge of the Earth - - 137
III. Organization of the Region of wellformed Nations 141
IV. Organization of the People of Africa 146
V. Organization of Man in the Iflands of the torrid Zone - - - - 152
VI. Organization of the Americans - -- - - ----154
VII. ConcUtfion 161
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CONTENTS. xiü
tHAPTER. BOOK VII. Page.
I. Notwithßanding the Farteties of the human Form, there is but one
and the fame Species of Man throughout the Whole of our Earth - 163
II. *The one Species of Man has naturalized itfelf in every Climate upon
Earth • 167
III. What is Climate f and what EffeEt has it informing the Body and
Mind of Man f 172
IV. The genetic Power is the Mother of all the Forms upon Earth, Climate
a^ing merely as an Auxiliary or Antagoniß - - ----177
V. Concluding Remarks on the Oppqfition between Genefis and Climate - 184
BOOK VIII,
L The Appetites of the human Species vary with their Form and Climate;
but a lefs brutal Ufe of the Senfes univerfally leads to Humanity - 188
II. The human Fancy is every where organic and climatic, but it is every
where led by Tradition - - - - -...---194
III. The praBical Underßanding of the human Species has every where
grown up under the Wants of Life \ but every where it is a Bloffom
of the Genius of the People, a Son of Tradition andCußom - - aoa
rV. The Feelings and Inclinations of Men are every where conformable to
their Organization, and the Circumßances in which they live \ but
they are every where fwayed by Cußom and Opinion - - - 208
V. The Happinefs of Man is in all Places an individual Good-, confe^
quently it is every where climatic and organic, the Offspring of
PraSiice, Tradition, and Cu/iom - - ...-•••218
BOOK IX.
j I. Ready as Man is to imagine he produces every thing from himfelf, he
is neverthelefs dependant on others for the Developement of his
Faculties - 225
II. Language is the fpecial Mean of improving Man • - - • • 231
III. All the Arts and Sciences of Mankind have been invented through
Imitation, Reafon, and Language - ........239
IV. Governments are efiablifhed Regulations among Men, chiefly founded
on hereditary Tradition • •- - ^•--.-. 244
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xW CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. Page.
V. Religio» is themoß aHcient and/acred Tradition upon tie Earth 251
BOOK X.
I. Our Earth is an Earth peculiar/y formed for it^s animate Creation - 257
II. ff^here was the Place of the Formation andmoß ancient Abode of Man f 259
III. Hißory^ and the Progrefs of Civilization^ afford hißorical Proof s^ that
the human Species originated in Afia - - •---.. 16^
IV. Afiatic Traditions on the Creation of the Earth and the Origin of the
human Species - 270
V. The moß ancient written Tradition concerning the Origin of the Hißory
of Man - 274
VI. Continuation of the moß ancient written Tradition concerning the Com-
mencement of the Hißory of Man 280
VII. Conclußon of the moß ancient written Tradition concerning the Com-
mencement of the Hißory of Man 286
BOOK XI.
L China - 290
II. Cochin-China^ Tonquin^ Laos, Corea, eqftern Tatary^ Japan - - 299
III. Tibet 301
rV. Hindoßan 305
V. General Reflexions on the Hißory of thefe States 310
BOOK XII.
I. Babylon, Affyria, Chaldea 318
II. Medes and Perfians ".- 324
III. The Hebrews - 329
IV. Phenicia and Carthage 336
V. The Egyptians - - - 342
VI. Farther Hints toward a Philofophy of the Hißory of Man - - - 348
BOOK XIII.
I. The Situation and Peopling of Greece ""354
IL The Language, Mythology, and Poetry of Greece - - - - - 359
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CONTENTS. xf
CHAPTER. Page.
ill. The Am of the Gruhs 3^4
IV. The moral and pQlitkalWiJdom of the Greeks 370
V. Scientific Acquirements of the Greeks 377
W. Hißory of the Revolutions of Greece 384
VII. General Reflections on the Hiftory of Greece 391
BOOK XIV.
I. Etrufcans and Latifts 39*
II. The Difpofitions of Rome for afovereign political and military State - 404
III. Omquefis of the Romans -•-•410
IV. The Decline of Rome ----- - 416
V. CharaBery Sciences^ and Arts of the Romans 423
VI. General Reflexions on the Hißory and Fate of Rome - - - - 431
BOOK XV.
I. Humanity is the End of human Nature y andy with this Endy God has
put their own Fate into the Hands of Mankind 43*
II. All the deftruSive Powers in Nature mufi not only yield in the Courfe
of Time to the maintaining Powers y but muß ultimately be fubfervient
to the Confummation of the Whole - 443
III. The human Race is defiined to proceed through various Degrees of Ci-
vilization, in various Mutations ; but the Permanency of it's IVel-
fare is founded folely and effentially on Reafon and Jufiice - - 450
IV. From the Laws of their internal Nature y Reafon and Jufiice mufi gain
more Footing among Men in the Courfe of Time, and promote a more
durable Humanity - - 457
V. A wife Goodnefs difpofes the Fate of Mankind^ therefore there is
no nobler Merity no purer and more durable HappinefSy than to co-
operate in it's Defigns - 4^^
BOOK XVU
I. BafqueSf Gael^ Ö Cimbri - - » « - 469
II. FlnSy Lettomans, and Prußans - ---.---. 475
III. German Nations 477
IV. SUman Hatitm -• 4**
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%A CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. Page.
V. Foreign Nations in Europe - • --.-..••• 484
VI. General Refle5lions and Deductions - -• 487
BOOK xvn.
L Originof Chrißianity^ with the fundamental Principles it included • 492
II. Propagation of Ckrißianity in the Eaß - .-...-. joo
III. Progrefs of Chri/Hanity in the Grecian Countries ------ ^09
IV» Progrefs of Chri/lianity in the Latin Provinces - • - - - - 517
BOOK XVIII.
I. Kingdoms of the Vifigoths^ Sueves, Alatis^ and Vandals - - - 525
11. Kingdoms of the Oßrogoths aud Lombards 531
III. Kingdoms of the Allmans, BurgundianSy and Franks • - • - 538
IV. Kingdoms of the Saxons f Normans^ and Dafies 545
V. The Northern Kingdoms, and Germany - ------552
VI. General View of the It\ßituiions of the German Kingdoms in Europe - 557
BOOK XIX.
I. Komijh Hierarchy --. 564
II. Effeä of the Hierarchy on Europe 571
III. Temporal Protestors of the Church 576
IV. Kingdoms of the Arabs - - -.-• ^82
V. EffeSs of the Arabian Kingdoms 590
VI. General Reflexions - - - - 597
BOOK XX.
J. The Spirit of Commerce in Europe - 599
II. Spirit of Chivalry in Europe -.- - ------ 605
III. The Croifades and their Confequences ---612
IV. Cultivation of Reafon in Europe -- 620
V. Inßitutions and Dijcoveries in Europe 627
VI. CmulufioB 631
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Outlines of a Philosophy of the
HISTORY OF MAN
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PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY^
BOOK I.
CHAPTSK I.
Ottr Earth is a Star among Stars.
IF our philofophy of the hiftory of man would in any meafure deferve that
name, it muft begin from Heaven. For as our place of abode, the Earth,
is of itfelf nothing, but derives it's figure and conllitution, it's faculty of forming
oigauiz^ beings, and preferving them when formed, from thofe heavenly powers,
that pervade the whole univerfe ; we muft firft confider it not fingly by itfelf,
but as a member of that fyflem of worlds, in which it is placed. It is bound
l3y eternal invifible bonds to it's centre, the Sun i from which it derives light,
heat, life, and vigour. Without this Sun, we can no more conceive our pla*
netary (yftem, than a circle without a centre. With it, and that beneficial
power of attra&ion, with which the eternal Being has endued it and all matter,
we perceive the planets formed in it's domain, according to fimple, beautiful,
and mafterly laws, jocundly and inceflantly revolving on their axes, and round
one common centre, in fpaces proportionate to their magnitudes and denfities ;
nay, by the fame laws round fome of them moons are formed to revolve. No-
thing fo much exalts the mind, as this contemplation of the grand ftrufture of
the univerfe ; and never, perhaps, did human thought attempt fo bold a flight,
and in part with (uccefs, as when in Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Huygens,
and Kant*, it conceived and confirmed the fimple, eternal, and perfedt laws of
the formation and motion of the planets.
* Kant's Jllgenuitit Naturgefcbichtt una The- Cofmological Letters, without being acquainted
«rrV äu Himmeh, • General Natural Hiftoiy and with the book; and Bode, in his Ktenntnifs dn
Theory of the Heavens/ Koenigfl). and Leipf. Himmels^ * Knowledge of the Heavens, haj
1755 ; a work mach lefs known, than it deferves. introduced fome of Kant*s conjedkures with re-
Lambert bat exprefled fome ilmilar ideas in his ipedful mention.
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2 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book L
It is Hemflerhuls, if I remember right, who laments, that this fublime fyftem
has by no means had fuch an qSc&, on the circle of our ideas, as it would have
had on the minds of mankind in general, had it been eftabliflied with mathe-
matical accuracy in the times of the greeks. We, for the moft part, content
ourfelves with viewing the Earth as a grain of fand moving in that great abyfs,
where the Earth fulfils her courfe round the Sun, this Sun with thoufands more
round their common centre, and probably yet many other fuch fyftems of funs
in feparate fpaces of the heavens ; till at length both the underftanding and the
imagination are loft in this fea of immenlity and eternal magnitude, and find
neither exit nor end.
But this barren aftonifliment, in which we are abforbed, is furely not
to be reckoned the nobleft or moft durable effeft. To Nature, in herfelf
all-fufEcient, the grain of fand is not of lefs value than an immeafurable
whole : (he determines the points of fpace and of exiftence, where worlds
Ihall be formed ; and in each of thefe points (he as wholly is, with the in-
divi(ible fiilnefs of her power, wifdom, and goodnefs, as though no other
point of creation, no other earthly atom cxifted. When I open the great
book of the univerfe, and fee be£>i:e me that immenfe palace, which the
Deity alone can fill in every part j I reafon as clofely as I can from the whole
to it's parts, and from it's parts to the whole. It was one and the (ame power»
that created the refplendent Sun, and preferves this grain of (and in it's orbit ;
the fame power, that caufed a galaxy of funs to revolve probably round the Dog-
ftar, and that afts on this earthly ball in the laws of gravitation. When I per-
ceive, that the place occupied by our Earth in this temple of funs, the path
defcribed by it in it's courfe, it's magnitude, it's mafs, and every thing thereon
depending, are determined by laws, that aA throughout infinity : J muft not
only be fatisfied with the place allotted me, and rejoice, that I am fo enabled
to perform my part in the harmonious choir of beings innumerable, unle(s I
would madly revolt againft omnipotence ; but it will be my nobleft occupa- •
tion, to inquire what in this allotted place I ought to be, and what in all
probability I can be in it alone.
If, in what feems to me the moft limited and inconfiftent, I find not only
traces of the great creative power, but an evident connexion of the minuteft
things with the plan of the creator in immen(ity ; the beft quality of my rea-
fon, ftriving to imitate God, will be to purfue this plan, and adapt itfelf to
the divine mind. On the Earth therefore would I not feek an angel of Heaven,
a creature mine eye has never feen ; but I would find on it inhabitants of the
Earth, human beings, and would with all fatis&dion receive what our great
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Chap. I.] Our Earth is a Star among Stars. 3
mother produces, fupports, nouriflics, endures, and finally receives into her
bofom with affeftion. Other Earths, her fillers, may probably boafl and enjoy
fuperiour creatures: fuffice it there lives on them, what on them can live.
My eye is framed to fupport the beams of the Sun at this diftance, and no
other; my ear, for this atmofpherej my body, for a globe of this denfity ; all
my fenfes, from, and for, the organization of this Earth : to which alfo the
aftions of my mental &culties are adapted. Thus the whole fpace and fphere
of aftion of my fpecies is as precifely determined and prefcribed, as the mafs
and courfe of the Earth, on which my life is to be fpent : and thence too in
many languages man derives his name from his parent Earth.
The greater the fphere of harmony, goodnefs, and wifdom, to which my pa
rent belongs i the more fublime and fixed the laws, on which her being, and
that of all other worlds, depend ; the more I perceive, that in them all proceeds
from one, and one fubferves all; the more firmly too find I my fate en-
chained, not to the dufi: of this Earth, but to the invifible laws by which this
Earth is governed. The power, which thinks and adts in me, is, from it*s nature,
as eternal as that, which holds together the Sun and the ftars : it's organs may
wear out, and the fphere of it*s adtion may change, as earths wear away, and
ftars change their places ; but the laws, through which it is where it is, and will
agun come in other forms, never alter. It's nature is as eternal as the mind of
God ; and the foundations of my being (not of my corporeal frame) are as
fixed as the pillars of the univerfe. For all bebg is alike an indivifible idea;
in tlie greateft, as well as in the leaft, founded on the fame laws. Thus the
ftrufture of the univerfe confirms the eternity of the core of my being, of my
intrinfic life. Wherever or whatever I may be, I (hall be, as I now am, a
power in the univerfal fyftem of powers, a being in the inconceivable harmony
of fome world of God.
CHAPTER II.
Our Earth is one of the middle Planets.
The Earth has two planets. Mercury and Venus, below it; above it are
Mars, perhaps another concealed from us beyond it, Jupiter, Saturn, and
Uranus, and whatever others there may be, before the regular fphere of adtion
of the Sun is loft, and the eccentric orbit of the laft approaches the wild ellipfes
of the comets. As in place, (b in magnitude, and in the proportion and du-
ration of it's revolution on its own axis and round the Sun, it is a being of a
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4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book I.
middle kind j each extreme, the greateft and the leaft, the fwiftcft and the
iloweft, are remote from it on either fide. Convenient as the fituation of our
Earth is, before that of other planets, for an aftronomical view of the whole *,
yet it would be highly gratifying, could we have a nearer infpeftion but of a
few of the members of this magnificent fiimily of ftars. A journey through
Jupiter, Venus, or merely our own moon, woxdd give us fuch an infight into
the formation of our Earth, which fprung from the fame laws, into the relation
the people of our Earth bear to the organized beings of other worlds, and,
perhaps, into our future deftination ; that from the conftruftion of two or
three links, we might more boldly infer the progrefs of the whole chain.
But Nature, by whom are fixed limits we are not to pafs, has denied us this
near infpedion. We fee the Moon, and contemplate it's vaft mountains and
caverns; we behold Jupiter, his eccentric revolutions, and his belts; we ob-
ferve the ring of Saturn, the ruddy light of Mars, the fofter beams of Venus ;
and thence we boldly conjefture, what right or wrong we fancy we perceive.
In the diftances of the planets we obferve proportion ; and we have formed
probable conclufions of the denfities of their mafles, with which we have fought
to make their movements and their revolutions accord. All this, however, we
have done, as mathematicians merely, not as natural philofophcrs ; for we have
no middle term of comparifon between them and our Earth. The proportion
of their magnitudes, rotations, orbits, &c. to their folar diftance, has not yet
pointed out any formula capable of explaining their natures from one and the
lame law of cofmogony : ftill lefs do we know how far each planet is advanced
in it's formation j and leaft of all have we any conception of the organization
and circumftances of it's inhabitants. The dreams of Kircher and Swedenboi^g»
the pleafantries of Fontenelle, the conjeftures of Huygens, Lambert, and Kant,
each marked with it's peculiar features, prove, that of thefe we can know nothing»
we muft know nothing. Whether we make our fcale afcending or defccnding;
whether we place the more perfeft beings near the Sun, or remote from it ; allis
but a dream, which our inability to enter into the varieties of the planets will ftep
by ftep deftroy, and ultimately reduce us to this conclufion ; that every where,
as here, fimplicity and variety prevail ; but that the limits of our underftanding,
and our point of view, afford us no meafure, by which to eftimatc their advance-
ment or retrogreffion. We are not in the centre, but in the throng; like
other worlds we float with the ftream, and have no ftandard of comparifon.
If, however, we venture, from our flation to form a fcale afcending to the
• KjBlhier*s Eulogy of Aftranomy, in the Hmb. Mä^m^ vol i, p. ao6^ and foUowlng.
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Chap. II.] Situation of our Earth. $
Sun, the fourcc of light and life in our creation, and defcending from it;
to our Earth will belong the ambiguous golden lot of mediocrity, which for
our confolation at leaft we may confider as a happy mean. While Mercury
revolves round his axis, and experiences the viciffitude of day and night, in
about fix hours ; completes his year in eighty-eight days ; and is fix times as
ftrongly enlightened by the Sun as our Earth : while Jupiter, on the other
band, takes eleven years and three hundred and thirteen days, to accomplifh
his extenfive courfe round the Sun, though his day and night take up lefs
than ten hours : while old Saturn, to whom the folar light is a hundred
times weaker, fcarcely performs his journey round the Sun in thirty years, yet
revolves on his axis in about feven hours: we middle planets, Mars, Venus,
and the Earth, are of a middle nature. Our days vary little from each other,
though they are as different firom thofe of the reft, as our years are in an
oppofitc proportion. The day of Venus is about twenty-four hours long; that
of Mars, not twenty-five. The year of the former confifts of two hundred and
twenty four days; that of the latter, of üx hundred and eighty feven, though
he b three times and a half lefs than the Earth, and more than half as ias
again from the Son. When we proceed to the reft, the proportions of their
magnitudes, revolutions, and diftances, differ widely from each other.
Thus Nature has placed us on one of the three middle planets ; in which, as
a mean degree and more moderate proportion with refped: to time and fpace
apparently prevail, a middle order of beings may be fuppofed to dwell.
In us the relation of matter to mind is probably proportionate to the length
of our days and nights. The celerity of our thoughts is probably as the
revolutions of our planet round itfelf, and round the Sun, to thofe of other
ftars: as our fenfes arc evidently adapted to the organization of our ELarth.
On each fide, we may prefume, there are the greateft divergencies. So long
then as we live on this Earth, let us reckon only on the mean earthly under-
ftanding, and ftill more equivocal human virtues. Could we behold the Sun
with the eyes of Mercury, and fly on his wings : were the flow pace, and
ample orbit of Saturn, or Jupiter, given us, with the fame revolutionary
fwiftnefs : or, capable of enduring the utmoft extremes of heat and cold»
could we ride on the hair of a comet through the wide regions of Heaven :
we might (peak of other minds and powers, than thofe proportioned to the
middle courfe of humankind. But now, being where and what we are, let
us remain true to this middle courfe : it is probably adapted with pitcifion
to the term of our exiftence.
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6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book I.
It muft fire the foul of the moft indolent mortal, to conceive himfclf in
any way enjoying the riches of creative nature now denied us : to imagme, that
probably, after we have attained the fummit of the organization of our planet»
it may be our lot, it may be the progrefs of our fate, to traverfe others of
the ftars ; or that it may be our ultimate deilination, to aflbciate with all the
perfefted creatures of fo many and fo various kindred worlds. As our
thoughts and faculties evidently fpring only from our earthly organization,
and ftrivc to change and improve themfelves, till they have attained all the
purity and pcrfedtion, that our creation can impart ; if we may prefume to
reafon from analogy, the fame muft take place in other ftars : and who can
conceive the glorious harmony, when beings fo varioufly formed all tend to
one point *, and impart to each other their experiences and perceptions ?
Our underftanding is a terreftrial underftanding, gradually fafliioned by the
things around us, that make themfelves.perceptible to our (enfes : fo is it
alfo with the impulfes and propenfities of our hearts : to another world their
external helps and obftacles are in all likelihood unknown. But will their
refults alfo be unknown ? Certainly not ! all the radii tend to the centre.
The pure underftanding muft be every where underftanding, from whatever
fenfible objefts it has been deduced : the energies of the heart will every
where have the fame capacity, that is virtue, on whatever objedts they may
have been exercifed. Thus here, too, probably the greateft variety tends
to uniformity, and all-comprehenfive nature will have one point, in which
the nobleft exertions of fo many beauteous creatures unite, and the flowers of
all worlds are coUefted into one garden. Why fliould not that, which is
phyficdly united, be fpiritually and morally united too ? Since fpirit and
morals are alfo phyfical, and obey, only in a fuperiour fphere, the-fame laws,
all of which ultimately depend on the folar fyftem. Might I be permitted,
to compare the general conftitutions of the feveral planets, in refpeft to their
organization and the lives of their inhabitants, with the various colours of a
ray of light, or the various notes of the gamut : I would fay, that probably
the light of the one Sun of truth and goodnefs ftrikes differently on each
planet. But while one Sun illumines them all, and they all revolve in one
plane of creation ; it is to be hoped, they will all approach nearer and nearer
to perfcftion, each in his own way, till at length, after various changes they
• Of the fan, as % probably habitable body« Berlin» Bifchaftlg, dtr Btrlinfiben Gefiii/cbaft
fee Bode'i Thoughts on the Nature of the Sun, Natmforßbtndar Frnrndt^ vol. ii, p, 125.
in the Tranfadtions of the Phyfical Society of
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Chap. II.] Situation of our Earih y
all unite in one fcbool of the good and beautiful. At prefent let us be only
men ; that is, one colour, one note, in the harmony of our ftars. If the
light we enjoy may be compared to the mild green colour, let us not confider
ourfelves as the pure light of the Sun, and take our uudcrftaodings and wills
for the fupports of the univerfe : for we, with this our Earth, and every thing
upon it, evidently form but a fmall fragment of the great wliole.
CHAPTER III.
Our Earth has undergone many Revolutions ere it became zvhat it now is,
1 H E truth of this propofition is evident, from what appears on the
furface of the Globe, and juft beneath it.j farther than which man has
not yet penetrated. Water has overflowed it, and formed foflile ftrata,
mountains, and valleys : fire has raged, burft the fhcU of the Globe, raifed
tip mountains, and thrown out the melted entrails of the Earth : air, enclofed
in the Earth, has excavated it, and afTifted the eruption of the powerful
element of fire : winds have exercifed their fury on it's furface, and a ftill
more powerful caufe has changed it's zones. Much of this has happened in
times, when organized and living beings already exifted : and indeed in
many places more than once, at longer or fliorter intervals ; as petrified animals
and plants almofl: every where, at the greateft heights, and at extreme
depths, fufficiently prove.
Many of thefe revolutions prefume an Earth already formed, and may be
deemed therefore, with probability, accidental : others appear effential to the
Elarth, and were the original caufes of it's form. Of neither clafs of them,
between which it is not eafy to draw the line, have we yet a complete theory.
We liave little reafon indeed to expeft a theory of thofe, which I have termed
accidental ; for they are as it were of an hiftorical nature, and may depend on
too many trifling local caufes : but of the eflential and primitive revolutions of
our Earth I could wifli the theory might be difcovered before I die. I even
hope it will : for though the obfervations made in different parts of the Globe
are far from being fufficiently accurate and comprehenfive ; ftill the principles
eftablifiied, and remarks made by natural philofophers, and the experiments
of chemifts and mineralogifts, feem to me to approach the point, where fomc
fortunate ken may unite different fciences, and elucidate one by another.
Buffon, with his bold hypothefes, is certainly but the Des-Cartes of this branch
of knowledge, whom foon a Kepler or a Newton will outfbrip and confiite by
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8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book L
unfophifticated concotdant (aßts. The new difcoveries, that have been made
refpeding heat, light, fire, and then: various efieds on the compofition, refb-
lution, and conftituent parts of terreftrial fubftances ; the fimple principles, to
which the eledric matter, and in fome meafure the magnetic, are reduced ; ap-
pear to me, if not near approximations, at leaft confiderable advances, which
will in time enable fome happy genius, by the aid of fome conneAing idea, to
explain ourgeogony on principles as fimple as thole, to which Kepler and Newton
have reduced the folar fyftem. How great a ftep would it be, could many
powers of nature, hitherto deemed occult qualities, be thus referred to phyfical
properties, the fubjedts of demonftration !
Be this as it may, {lill it is undeniable, that here too Nature purfues her
grand courfe, and produces the greateft variety from an infinitely progreffive
fimpltcity. Before our air, our water, our earth, could be produced, various
reciprocally diflTolving and precipitating ßamina were neceflary : and how many
folutions and converfions of one into another do the multiferious fpecies of
earths, ftones, and cryftallizations, and of organization in (heUs, plants, animals,
and, laftly, in man, prefuppofe ! as Nature ftill every where produces all things
from the fined and moft minute j and, while öic reckons not by our eftimation
of time, imparts the moft copious abundance with the ftrifteft regard to eco-
nomy; this fecms, even according to the Mofaic tradition, to have been her
courfe, when (lie laid the firft foundations of the creation, or rather of the fi^r-
niation and evolution of creatures. The mafs of adtive powers and elements,
from which the Earth was formed, contained, probably, as a chaos, all that was
to be, and could be, on it* At ftated periods, air, fire, water, the earth, arofe
from thcfe fpiritual and material ßamina. Various combinations of water, air,
and light, muft have taken place, before the feeds of the firft vegetable organ-
ization, of mofs perhaps, could have appeared. Many plants muft have fprung
up and died, before organized animals were produced i and among thefe, infefts
and birds, aquatic and nodurnal animals, muft have preceded the more perfeft
animals of the land and the day ; till finally, to crown the organization of our
Earth, Man, the microcosm, arofe. He, the fon of all the elements and
beings, their choiceft fummary and the flower of the creation, could not but
be the laft darling child of Nature ; whofe formation and reception various evo-
lutions and changes muft have preceded.
Still it was natural, that he Ihould fee many ; for as Nature never refts from
her work, and yet lefs negleös or poftpones it in favour of a fondling ; the
drying up and falhioning of the Earth, internal flame, external floods, and all
their confequences, muft have occurred often, for a long time after man dwelt
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Chap. III.] Revoltaions of our Earth. 9
on it's furfiice. Even our ancient written traditions fpeak of fuch revolutions i
and we (hall hereafter fee the powerful effedb» thefe fearful phenomena of old
times have had on almoft the whole of the human race. Such ilupendous com-
motions are now more rare, as the Earth is perfeäed, or rather grown old : but
never can we, or our habitation, be totally exempt from them. Very unlike the
conduft of a philofopher was tlie complaint made by Voltaire at the cataftrophe
of Li(bon, on account of \n Iiich he almoft blafphemouily arraigned the Deity
himfelf. Are not we ourklvcs, and all that belong to us, including even our
habitation the Earth, indebted to the elements? And when thefe, agreeably to
the ever-ading laws of nature, periodically roufe and claim their own; when
fire and water, air and wind, which have rendered our Elarth habitable and
fruitful, proceed on their courfe and defbroy it ^ when the Sun, after having
long warmed us with paternal care, foflered all living beings, and linked them to
1ÜS cheering vifage with golden bands, ultimately attra^b into his fiery bofom
the fuperannuated powers of the Earth, which fhe can no longer renovate and
uphold ; what more happens, than the eternal laws of wifilom and order re*
quire } In a fyftem of changeable things, if there be progrefs, there muft be
deftruftion : apparent dcfbru^ion, that is ; or a change of figures and forms.
But this never afieds the interiour of nature, which, exalted above all deftruc-
tion, continually rifes as a phenix firom it's aflies, and blooms with youthful
vigour. The formation of this our abode, and all the fubftances it can produce,
muft have already prepared us for the firailty and mutability of the hiilory of
man ; and the more clofely we infpedt it, the more clearly do thefe unfold
themfelves to our perception.
CHAPTER IV.
Our Earth is an ort, which revohes round it*s own axis, and in an
oblique direßion towards ihe Sun.
Asa fphere is the moft perfeft figure, containing the greateft furface with
the leaft mafs, and including the greateft variety in the mofl beautiful fim-
plicity ; our Earth, and all the planets and funs, have been projefted by the
hand of Nature as orbicular bodies, fimple, yet full« abundant, without wafte.
The multifarious variety, that aftually exifls on our Earth, is aftonifhing; but
flill more aftonifhing is the unity, that pervades this inconceivable variety. It
is a mark of the profound northern baibarity, in which we educate our children.
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10 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book I.
that we give them not from their infancy a deep impreffion of this beauty, this
uniformity and variety of our flarth. May my book go a little way toward
the difplay of this grand profpeA, which ftnick me forcibly the moment I
began to think for myfelf, and firft launched me on the wide ocean of free
inquiry. It will be facred to me as long as I behold the circumambient Heaven
above me, and this all-including felf-encircling Earth beneath my feet.
It is inconceivable how men could fo long fee the (hadow of their Earth in
the Moon, without being deeply fenfible, that every thing on it's circumference
is wheel, is change. Who, that had ever feriouily confidered this figure, would
have gone about to have converted a whole world to a verbal faith in phiiofbphy
or religion, or to murder men for it with blind but holy zeal i Every thing on
our EbiÜl is the variation of a fphere ; no point refembles another, neither he-
mifphere is like the other s eaft and weft are as oppofite as north and fouth. It
fliows a narrownefs of mind, to confider this variation merely witli refpeft to
latitude, becaufe, perhaps, with regard to longitude it is lefs evident, and to
divide the hiftory of man into climates,, according to an old ptolomean fyftem.
To the ancients the Earth was lefs known; at prefent we are better ac-
quainted with it, than to take a general view and eftimation of it merely by
north and fouth parallels.
On the Earth all is change ; it admits no feftions, none of the neceffitous
divifions of a globe or a chart. While the ball revolves, heads revolve on it as
climates, manners and religions as difpofitions and garments. In it there is
unfpeakable wifdom : not that every thing is fo multifarious, but that every
thing on this round ball is fo in unifon. In this law : to cßcGt many thmgs in
one, and to combine the greateft variety with an unconlbrained uniformity :
confifts the height of beauty.
Nature has faftcned a gentle weight to our feet, to give us this uniformity
and (lability : in the material world it is called gravity, in the immaterial in-
dolence. As every thing prefTes toward a centre, and notliing can leave this
World, for it depends not on our will, even whether we fhall live and die on it, or
not ; fo Nature draws our minds from infancy with flrong chams, each to it's
own, that is to it's Earth j for what have we at bottom, that is properly our
own, but this ? Every one loves his country, his manners, his language, his
wife, his children; not becaufe they are the beft in the World, but becaufe they
are abfolutely his own, and he loves himfelf and his own labours in them.
Thus men accuftom themfelves to the moft indifferent food, the hardeft way
of life, the rudeft manners of the rudeft climate, and find in them pleafure and
content. Even the birds of paflage build their nefts in the places where they
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Chap. IV.] ^he EartVs Rotation. 1 1
were born ; and the wildeft country has often the moft attradtive ties for the
race of men, by which it is inhabited.
Aik we then, where is the country of man ? where the central point of the
Earth ? Every where, the anfwer may be : here, where thou ftandeft : be it
near the icy pole, or direöly under the burning Sun of the Ime. Wherever
men can live, and they can live almoft every where, there live men« As the
great parent of all could not produce an eternal uniformity on our Earth \ no-
thing remained, but to create the utmoft variety, and form man of proper ma-
terials to endure it. Hereafter we (hall perceive a beautiful fcale, according to
which, as the organization of a creature is more elaborate, it*s capacity for fup-
porting various dates, and adapting itlelf to each, is increafed. Of all thefe
changeable, modifiable, adaptable creatures, man is the moft adaptable : the
whole Earth is made for him ; he for the whole Earth.
If, then, we would philofophife on the hiftory of our fpecics, let us rejed, as
ftr as poffible, all narrow modes of thinking, taken from the conftitution of one
region of the Earth, the dodkrines of a fingle fchool. Let us confider as the
purpofe of Nature, not what man is with us, or what, according to the notions
of fome dreamer, he ought to be \ but what he is on the Earth in general, and
at the fame time in every region in particular ; or to what the copious variety
rf circumftances in the hand of Nature can any where felhion him. We will
not (eek for him any favourite form, any favourite region ; wherever he is, he is
the lord and fervant of Nature \ her moft beloved child, and at the fame time
perhaps her moft rigidly fubjugated ilave. Advantages and difadvantages, evils
and difeafes, as well as new kinds of enjoyment and the fuUnefs of blifs, every
where await him \ and as the die turns up thefe circumftances and conditions,
fb is he.
By an eafy mean, though to i» inexplicable. Nature has not only promoted
this variety of creatures upon the Earth, but has fixed and limited it's extent.
This mean is the obliquity of the Earth's axis to the Sun's equator : which arifes
not from the laws of rotatory motion \ for Jupiter has it not, his axis ftanding
perpendicular to his orbit \ Mars has it but in a irnall degree ; while Venus
again has it very acute; and Saturn, with his ring and his moons, lies fidelong
to the Sun. What an infinite variety of feafons and folar influences is thus oc-
cafioned in our fyftem ! Here too our Earth is a favoured child, a middle af-
fociate : the angle in which flie is inclined is not yet four-and-twenty degrees.
Whether this were always fo, is not for us at prefent to inquire; fuffice it, that
io it now is. This unnatural, or at leaft to us inexplicable angle, is become
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12 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book I.
proper to it, and has not changed for fome thoufands of years • ; thus it fccms
ncceflary to what the Earth, and the human fpecics upon it, muft now be. For
this obliquity of the ecliptic conftitutes changeable zones, which render the
whole Earth habitable, firom the pole to the equator, and from the equator to
the pole. The Earth muft have a regular inclination, that regions, which would
otherwife lie in cinunerian cold and darknefs, may behold the beams of the Sun,
and be fitted for oiganization. As the hiftory of the Earth from the remoteft
times informs us, that the difference of the zones has had confiderable in-
fluence on all the revolutions of the human mind and it's operations -, for neither
from the torrid nor the frigid zones have thofe effedts ever been produced, to
which the temperate zones have given birth : we fee with what fine traits
the finger of omnipotence has defcribed and encircled all the changes and
fhades on the Globe. Had the Earth's inclmation to the Sun differed but a
little from what it is, every thing on it would have been different.
Thus here, too, fuitable variety is the law of the plaftic art of the Creator of
the World. It was not fufEcient for him, that the Earth was divided into light
and (hade, and human life into day and ni^t : the year of our exiftence alfo
was to vary, and only a few days were left for us in it's autumn and winter.
Hence were determined the length or fhortnefs of himian life, the meafure of
our faculties, the revolutions of our different ages, the changes of our occupa«
tions, phenomena, and thoughts, the nullity or duration of our refolves and
ads : for all thefe, we Ihall find, are ultimately conncfted with the fimple hw
of the viciffitude c( days and feafons. Did man live longer, were the powen,
the end, the enjoyment, of his life, lefs changeable and diffufed, did not Nature
uige him fo periodically with all the phenomena of the feafons; man's empire
on the Earth would not be fb extenfive; and ftill lefs would the complicated
fcenes, that hiftory now difplays, be produced ; but in a more circumfcribed
habitation, our vital powers would probably operate more intimately, ener-
getically, and firmly. At prefent the words of the Preacher are the fymbd of
our Earth : There is a time for all things s winter and fummer, fpring and fall,
youth and age, labour and reft. Under our oblique fun every adlion of man
refembles the revolutions of the feafons.
• From the obfervations of different allro- the time of Ptolomjr« at the rtte of about two
nomeri, it hat been inferred, that the obliquity of auntttet and half of a degree in a COitary. T.
the ecliptic ia regvlarly decretfing, at kift fince
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[ 13 I
CHAPTBR V.
Our Earth is enveloped with an atmofphere^ and is in cwfliR with fever al
of the cekßial bodies.
We are of fuch a complicated ftrufture, afummary of almofl: every fpecic» of or-
ganization on the Earth, the primitive conftituent parts of which were all probably
precipitated from the ether, and paffed from the invifible to the vifible world, that
we are incapable of breathing pure air. When our Earth firft began to be, the
air, in all likelihood, was the magazine, that contained the powers and materials,
which formed it. And is it not fo dill ? How many things, heretofore unknown,
have been difcovered of late years, aU of which a6t through the medium of the
air ! The eledtric matter, and the magnetic fluid ; phlogiflon, and the acidify*
ing principle ; cold-engendering falts, and, perhaps, the particles of light, which
the Sun may ferve only to fet in motion 5 all thefe are powerful inflruments of
Nature's operations on the Earth ; and how many more yet remaun to be dif-
covered! The ur fecundates and diflblves; it abforbs, ferments, and pre-
cipitates. Thus it fcems to be the mother of tcrreftrial creatures, as well as
cf the Earth itfelf ; the general vehicle of things, which it receives into it's bo-
fom, and s^n loofes from it's embrace.
It needs not to be demonfbrated, that the influence of the atmofphere co-
operates in the mofl (piritual determinations of all the creatiu^s upon Earth :
with the Sun it (hares the government of this globe, which it formerly created.
What an imiverfal difference would have taken place, had our air pofl[eflred a
different degree of elaflicity and gravity, of purity and deniity ; had it pre-
cipitated another water, another earth \ and had it otherwife influenced the or-
ganization of bodies ! Undoubtedly this is the cafe with other planets, formed
in other regions of the air ; and thence all the notions we can form of their
fubftances and phenomena from thofe of our Earth muft be altogether un-
certain. Prometheus was creator here ; he formed bodies from foft precipitated
clay, and drew firom above as many fparks of light and intelleftual power, as
were attainable at this diftance from the Sun, and in a mafs of this particular
Ipecific gravity.
The dificrence between men too, as well as between all the other produftions
of the terrcftrial globe, muft be regulated by the fpecific difference of the me-
dixmi, in which, as in the organ of the deity, we live. This refpefts not merely
the divifion of the zones according to heat and cold, or merely the lightnefs or
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14 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book I,
weight of the atmofphcre, that prcflcs on us ; but infinitely more the various
aAive immaterial powers, that operate in it» nay, probably conftitute all it's qua-
lities and phenomena. How the eledkric and magnetic ftrcams flow round our
Earth ; what vapours and exhalations afcend in this place or in that ; whether
they tend ; into what they are converted ; what organizations they produce j
how long they fuftain them ; and how they diflblve them ; all evidently afFed
the conftitution and hiftoiy of every race of men : for man, like every thing
clfe, IS a nurfling of the air, and in the whole circle of his exiftencc is the brother
of all the organized beings upon Earth.
It feems to me, we fhould approach a new world of knowledge, if the obfer-
vations, which Boyle, Boerhaave, Hales, S'Gravcfande, Franklin, Prieftley,
Black, Crawford, Wilfon, Achard, and others, have made on heat and cold,
on eleftricity, and on the different fpecies of air, with other chemical principles 9
and if their influence in the mineral and vegetable kingdoms, and on men and
animals, were coUedked into one natural fyflem. If in time thefe obfervations
fliould become as multifarious and general, as the increafing knowledge of va-
rious regions and produftions of the Earth would allow, till the growing ihidy
of nature fliould eflablifli as it were an univerfally diffufed free academy, whicli
fliould obferve, with divided attention, but with one regard to truth, certainty,
utility, and beauty, the influence of thefe principles in this place and that, on
one fubjeä and another ; we fliould ultimately obtain a geographical aerology,
and fee this great hothoufe of Nature operating a thoufand changes by the fame
fundamental laws. Thence would the formation of man, in body and in mind,
be explained to us ; and we fliould be enabled to finifli the pidurc, of which
we have at prefent but a few, though clear, outlines.
But the Earth is not alone in the univerfe : other celcftial beings, therefore,
operate on it's atmofphere, on this great rcpofitory of adtive powers. That
globe of eternal fire, the Sun, governs it with his beams. The Moon, that pon-
derous gravitative body, that probably hangs even within it's atmofphere, preflcs
on it at one time with her cold and dark furfiice, at another with her face warmed
by the Sun. Now flie is before, then behind it : at one time flie is nearer the
Sun, at another farther off. Other celeftiial bodies approach the Earth, prefs on
it's orbit, and modify it's powers. The whole fyftem of the heavens is a ftrifc
of fimilaf or diflimilar orbs, propelled with great force toward each other; and
nothing but the one great idea of omnipotence alone could balance thefe pro-
pelling powers, and uphold them in the conflid. Here too, in the wide la-
byrinth of contending powers, has the human underftanding found a clew, and
almoft performed miracles ; guided principally by the irr^ular Moon, propelled
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Chap. V.] Our Earth em>eloped with an Atmofphere^ 15
by two oppofite forces» aad fortunately placed fo near us. Were all thefe ob-
iervations» and their itfults» once to be applied to our aerial orb, as they have
ah-eady been to the ebb and flow of our ocean ; were the induftry of many
years to proceed» in various places of the Earth» aflifted by delicate inftruments»
part of which are already invented» to reduce to order» and connect in one whole»
the revolutions of this celeftial fea» according to time and place ; I am of opi-
nion, qßrology would appear anew among our fciences in the moft relpe&able
and ufeful form ^ and what Toaldo began» what De Luc» Lambert» Mayer»
Beckmann» and others» have promoted by the eftablifliment of principles or
collateral helps» probably a Gatterer would complete» and aflurcdly with a com-
prehenfive view of geography and the hiftory of man.
Be this as it may» we are» and we grow» we wander and toil» under or in a
fea of celeftial powers» part of which we have obferved» and of part of which we
have formed conjedbures. Since air and weather have fo much power over us»
and the whole Earth ; in all likelihood it was here an eleftrical fpark» that (hot
more pure into this human being ; there a portion of inflammable matter» more
forcibly comprefled into that ; here a mafs of mere coldnefs and ferenity ; there
a foft» mollifying» difluiive eflence i that determined and produced the greateft
epochs and revolutions of humankind. The omniprefent eye» under which this
clay alfo is fafliioned according to eternal laws» can alone pomt out to every
elementary atom, every emitted fpark» every ethereal ray» in this world of phy-
flcal powers» it's place, it's time» and it's fphere of aftion» to mix and qualify
it with oppofite powers.
CHAPTER VI.
The planet we inhabit is an Earth of mount ains^ rifing above the
Jurface of the waters.
Th I s is confirmed by a fimple infpedlion of a map of the World, which exhibits
chains of mountains» not merely tiaverfing the dry land, but evidently appearing
to conftitute the fkelcton, on which the land was formed. In America the moun-
tains run along the wcftern coaft through the ifthmus. They proceed obliquely,
as does the land : where they penetrate more Interiourly» the land grows wider,
till they are loft in the unknown regions of New-Mexico. It is likely» that here
they not only proceed higher up to mount Elias, but are alfo laterally conneded
with others, particularly the Blue Mountains, as in South America» where the
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i6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book L
land is broader» and the mountains run northward and eaftwaid] Thus Arne-
rica» even according to it*s figure» is a ftripe of earth appended to it's moun-
tains, and formed more level» or more deep, according to their declivity.
The other three quarters of the Globe prefent a more complicated aipeft» as
their great outline forms in faft but one whole ; yet it requires no great exer-
tion to perceive» that the protuberant {pine of ACa is the Item of the mountains»
that fpread over that quarter of the Globe» over Europe» and probably over
Africa» or at lead it's fuperiour part. Atlas is but a continuation of the afiatic
mountains» acquiring a greater height in the middle of the country» and in aU
likelihood conne&ing itfelf with the Mountains of the Moon» by means of the
chains of mountains near the Nile. Whether thefe Mountains of the Moon be
fuiEciently high and broad» to be deemed aAually one of the (pines of the Earth»
futurity mull determine. The extent of the country, and fome imperfedk ac-
counts» give room for fuch a conje&ure ; but the proportionate paucity and
fmallnefs of thofe rivers of this quarter of the Globe» with which we are ac-
quainted, prevent us from determining them to be a true girdle of the Earth»
as the Ural of Afia, or the Cordilleras of America. But it is enough for our
purpofe, that in thefe regions alfo the land is evidently fafliioned by the moun-
tains. It is every where extended parallel to thefe ; and wherever the moun-
tains fpread and branch out» there alfo fpreads the land. This remark is equally
valid in the promontory, the ifland» and the peninfula : the land ftretches out
it's arms and limbs, wherever the Skeleton of mountains is ftretched out ; it is»
therefore» only a diverfified mafs» formed on this flceleton in various ranges and
layers» that ultimately became habitable.
Thus the produdtion of the firft mountains determined how the Earth fliould
cxift as dry land. They feem as it were the ancient nuclei» or buttrefles» of the
Earth, on which the air and water only deposited their burdens» till at length a
place for vegetable organization was laid down» and (pread out. Thefe mod
ancient chains of mountüns are not capable of being explained by the rotation
of the Globe : they are not in the region of the equator» where the orbicular
motion is moft powerful; they are not even parallel to it ; mdeed the american
chain paflTes diredtly acrofs the equator. From thefe mathematical circles»
therefore, we can feek no light ; particularly as the loftieft mountains and chains
of mountMns, compared with the moving mafs of the Globe, are reduced to an
infignificant nothing. I deem it, therefore, not fit, to fubftitute an analogy
with the equator and meridians in the names of chains of mountains» as there
Is no true connexion between them» and it may tend to introduce erroneous
ideas. It is from their original form, generation» and extenfion» from their
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Chap. VI.] Our Planet an Earth ofMountahu. t'j
height and breadth, in (hort from a phyficallaw of Nature^ that their formation,
and with it the formation of the firm land, is to be explained. But whether
fuch a phyfical law of Nature be difcoverable \ whether they be as rays from one
centre, as branches from one ftem, or as angular horfefhoes ; and what rule of
formation they had, when they protuberated as bare mountains, as the fkeleton
of the Earth ; are important queftions, that remain to be folved, and of which I
much wi(h to fee a fatis&Aory folution. I fpeak not here of hills formed by
alluvion, but of the firft frmdamental and primitive mountains of the Earth«
Suffice it, that the land ftretched itfelf out, juft as the mountains arofe. Afia
was firfl habitable, as it pofTefled the higheft and broadeft chains of mountains,
and on the ridge a plain, which the fea never reached. Here too, in all likeli*
hood, was, in fome happy valley, at the foot of the embofoming mountains, the
firft feleft habitation of man. Thence his progeny extended fouthwards in the
pleafant and fertile plains, that bordered the ftreams ; while northwards harder
races were formed, who roved between the rivers and mountains, and in courfe
of time fpread themfelves weftward even as far as Europe. Troop followed
troop ; one people preffed forward another ; till at length they arrived at a fea,
our Baltic, over which part crofled, while another part turned off, and occupied
the fouth of Europe. But other colonies, other troops of people, proceeding
from Afia fouthwards, had already fettled themfelves here ; and hence, by dif-
ferent and fometimes oppofite ftreams of men, this corner of the Earth was
peopled fo thickly as we now fee it. At length more than one people, being
hardly prefled, retired into the mountains, and relinquifhed the plains and open
country to their conquerors : hence, almoft throughout the whole World, we
meet with the moft ancient remains of nations and languages, either on moun-
tains, or in the nooks and corners of the land. There is fcarce an iiland, fcarce
a country, where the plains are not occupied by a foreign people of more recent
date, while the more ancient and uncultivated nation has concealed itfelf among
the hills. From thefe hills, on which they have retained their ruder way of life,
they have often, in later times, effefted revolutions, involving the inhabitants of
the plains to a greater or lefs extent. India, Perüa, China, and even the weftern
countries of Alia, nay Europe itfelf, protedled as it has been by it's arts and the
divifion of it's lands, have more than once felt the fcourge of overwhelming
armies defcending from the mountains : and what has happened on the great
ftage of the World has been no lefs frequent in fmaller circles. The mahrattas
in the fouth of Afia, the wild mountaineers in many different iflands, and here
and there in Europe the remains of the ancient brave inhabitants of the hilly
countries, have made various incurfions on the plains, and, when they could not
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i8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY» [Book T.
be conquerors, have become robben. In (hort, the great mountainous ridges
of the Earth feem, as they were the firft habitation of the human race, to be
the grand repofitories of the inftruments of it's revolutions and coniervation.
As they diflxibute water to the Earth, fo alfo diftributc they people : as from
them fountains arife, fo fprings from them the fpirit of bravery and freedom»
when the gentler plains are funk beneath the yoke <^ laws, arts, and vices. The
heights of Afia are even now the rendezvoxis of people for the moft part uncul-
tivated : and who can tell what parts they are placed there to overwhelm and
renovate in future ages ?
Of Africa we know too little, to form a judgment of the prefTurc and pro-
pulfion of it's people. The higher countries, as appears from the races that
inhabit them, were certainly peopled from Afia; and Egypt probably obtained
it's cultivation from the fame quarter, not from the higher ridges of it's owft
firm land. It has been overrun, however, by the ethiopians ; and on many
of it's coafts, beyond which we know nothing of the country, we hear of ir»
ruptions of the favage people of the mountainous parts. The gagas or jages
are famous as cannibals in the ftrifteft fenfe of the word ; and the caffres, and
the people beyond Monomotapa, are faid not to be infcriour to them in bar»
barity. Indeed here, fimilarly to what we obferve every where clfe, the pri»
mitive favage races appear to inhabit the Mountains of the Moon, which occupy
the wideft fpace of the interiour country.
However old or recent the population of America may be, Peru, the mofl
cultivated flate of this quarter of the Globe, is feated direftly at the feet of the
higheil of the Cordilleras ; but only at their feet, in the pleafant and temperate
vale of Quito. The wild nations ftretch along the mountains of Chili to Pa-
tagonia. The other chains of mountains, and the interiour part of the country
in general, are little known to us -, yet enough to confirm the pofition, that
upon and amidfl the mountains, ancient manners, original barbarifm, and free-
dom, dwell. Moft of thefe people are yet unconquered by the fpaniards, who
are thcmfelves forced to give them the appellation of los bravos. The cold re-
gions of North America, as well as of Afia, are to be confidcred as a wide range
of mountains, both with tefpe<5t to climate, and the manners of their inha«>
bitants.
Thus Nature ftretched the rough but firm outline of the hiftory of man and
it's revolutions, with the lines of mountains (he drew, and the ftreams (he let
flow from them. How people here and there broke out, and di^rovered farther
land ; how they (brctched along the (breams, and eredled huts, villages, and
towns, in fruitful places; how they mtrenchcd thcmfelves as it were between
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Chap. VI J Our Planet att Earth cf Mountains. 19
mountains and delerts, a river, perhaps, in the midft, and called the fpot, (epa«
fated by nature and their occupancy, now their own ; bow hence, according to
the circumftances of the place, various modes of life, and ultimately kingdoms
vofe, till at length men reached the coaft, and from the generally unfruitful
flioK invaded the fea, and learned to procure from it their food i belongs as
properly to the natural progre(s of the hiftory of man, as to the phyfical hiftory
of the Earth. One height produced nations of hunters, thus cherilhing and
rendering neceflary a favage ftate : another, more extended and mild, afforded
a field to the fliepherd, and aflbciated with him inoffenfive animals : a third
made agriculture eafy and neceflary : while a fourth led to fifhing, to naviga-
tion, and at length to trade. The ftrufture of our Earth, in it's natural variety
lUid diverfity, rendered all thefe diftinguilhing periods and ftates of man un-
avoidable. Thus in many parts of the Earth manners and cuiloms have re«
cnained unchanged fome thoufands of years : in others they have altered, com*
monly from external caufes, yet always according to the land from which the
«Iteration came, and to that in which it happened, and on which it operated.
Seas, mountains, and rivers, are the moil natural boundaries of nations, man-
ners, languages, and kingdoms, as well as of the land : and, even in the greateft
revolutions of human affairs, they have been the direäiing lines or limits of the
hiftory of the World. Had the mountsuns rifen, had the rivers flowed, or had
the coaft trended otherwife, how very differently would mankind have been
fcattered over this tilting-place of Nature !
I (hall fay but few words refpe&ing the fliores of the fea : they form a ftage
as ample, as the afpeft of the firm land is great and diverfified. What has ren«
dered Afia fo uniform m manners and prejudices, and peculiarly the firft fchool
of nations, and the place where they were formed ? Firft, and chiefly, it's beii^
fuch a great extent of firm land, in which people not only fpread themfelvci
with eafe, but remain long, and ftill connefted with each other, whether they
will or not. North and fouth Afia are fq>arated by great mountains ; but no
ibi divides their ample fpace : the Cafpian alone remains at the foot of Caucafus,
a remnant of the primitive ocean. Here tradition eafily found it's way, and
might be ftrengthened by new traditions from the fame or other regions. Here
every thing ftruck a deep root ; religion, filial reverence, defpotifm I The nearer
we are to Afia, the more are thefe, as ancient, eternal habits, at home 5 and not-
witbftanding the variations between different countries, they are fpread over the
whole of the fouth of Afia. The north, which is feparated from thb by lofty
mountains, as by a wall, has formed it's many nations differently : yet in ipite
of all the varieties between the feveral people, a like degree of uniformity per-
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20 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book J,
vades the whole. Tatary, the moft immenfe region of the Earth, fwarms with
nations of different pedigree, all of whom are nearly at the fame degree of culti-
vation : for no fea feparates them : they all wallow on one great north-inclining
plain.
On the other hand, what a difference is produced by the Red Sea, fmall as it
is ? The abyffinians are an arabian race, the egyptians an afiatic people : yet
quite another world of manners and cuftoms appears among them. The like is
difplayed in the lowermofl: corner of Afia. What a difference does the narrow
gulf of BaiTora make between the perfians and arabs! How diflinft are the
malays from the people of Cambodia, from whom they are feparated by the
little gulf of 9iam ! The manners of the inhabitants of Africa evidently differ
little, for they arc feparated by no fee or gulf, and probably by defcrts alone.
Hence, too, foreign nations have been able to make lefs impref&on on it i and to
us, who have wormed ourfelves into almoft every hole, this vafl quarter of the
Globe is little better than unknown ; merely becaufe it is no where deeply in*
dented by the fea, and fpreads itfelf as an inacceffible gold-country in one broad
patch.
America is fo full of little nations, probably, becaufe it is fo broken and inter«
fefted, north and fouth, with rivers, lakes, and mountains. From it's fituation,
alfo, it Is externally of all lands the moft accef&ble, as it confifls of two penin«
iulas, conneAed only by a narrow ifthmus, where a deep bay forms an archipe-
lago of iflands. Thus it is all coafl as it were; and hence thepofleffionof al-
mofl all the maritime powers of Europe, and in war the apple of contention.
This fituation was favourable for us european plunderers : while it's internal
divifions were unfavourable for the impro\'ement of it's ancient inhabitants.
They dwelt too much feparated from one another by lakes and rivers, abrupt
heights and precipices, for the culture of one region, or tie old ward of the tra-
dition of their fathers, to eflablifh and extend itfelf as in the widefpread Afia.
Why is Europe diflinguiflied by the variety of it's nations, it's multifarious
manners and arts, but flill more by the influence it has had on all parts of the
World ? I know well there is a combination of caufes, that we cannot here
trace feparately : but phyCcally it is inconteflible, that it's interfefted, multi-
form land has been one occafionsd and contributive caufe. As the people of Afia
migrated hither by various ways, and at various times, what bays and gulfs, what
numerous rivers flowing in different courfes, and what alterations of little rows
of mountains, found they not here ! They might be together, yet feparatei
a& upon one another, and again live in peace : thus this fmall multifidous part
of the World was in miniature the market place, the throng, of all the people
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Chap. VL] Our Planet in Eartk of Momitains. tt
upon Earth. The Mediterranean alone has fo much influenced the charadter
of all Europe» that we may almoil call it the medium and propagator of all the
cultivation of antiquity and the middle age. The Baltic comes greatly behind
it, as it lies far more to the north, between ruder nations and lefs fruitful lands,
as a by-lane of the mart of the Earth : yet k is the eye of all the north of Eu-
rope. But for it, moft of the adjacent lands would be barbarous, cold, and un«
inhabitable. The like effeA has the gap between Spain and France, the chan-
nel between France and England, the figures of Britain, Italy, and ancient
Greece. Change the outlines of tbefe countries, here take away a ftrait, theic
block up a channel ; the formation and devaftation of the World, the fate of
whole regions and people, would proceed for centuries in a different courfc.
Secondly, If it be aiked, why, befide our four quarters of the Globe, there is
not a fifth, in that vaft ocean, in which one had long been confidently prefumed
to exift ; the anfwer is pretty well determined by h&s : in that deep fea there
is no primitive mountain high enough to create an extenfive firm land. The
afiatic mountains terminate in Ceylon with Adam's- Peak, and in Sumatra and
Borneo with the ridges from Malacca and Siam ; as do the afncan at the Cape
of Good-Hope, and the american in Tierra del Fuego. Thence the granite,
the fundamental pillar of the firm land, declines into the deep, and never more
appears above the furface of the fea in high ridges. Throughout the great ex-
tent of New Holland there is not a fingle chain of mountains of the firfl order.
The Philippines, the Moluccas, and the reft of the fcattcred iflands, are all of
the volcanic kind only ; and many of them have ftill volcanoes. The ful-
phurous pyrites may here have performed it's part, and contributed to the for-
mation of the fpice-gardens of the World, which it's fubterranean heat probably
continues to render Nature's hothoufe. The coral infefts alfb do what they
can *, and produce, perhaps in fome thoufands of years, the little ifles, that
appear as points in the ocean : but the powers of this fouthern region extend
no farther. Nature has defigned this vail fpace for a great abyfs of water :
which was effentially requifite to the habitable land. If once the phyfical law
of the formation of the primitive mountains of our Earth were difcovered, and
with it that of the form of our land, we fliould perceive the rcafon, why the
fouth pole could have no fuch mountains, and confequently no fifth quarter of
the Globe. Even were there one j muft it not, from the prefent conftitution of
our atmofphere, remain uninhabitable ; and be, like the Sandwich Iflands and
flioals of ice, the hereditary domain of fcals and penguins ?
* See Fozfter*! Obrervadons, Btmnkun^en, (sTr., p. 126 and following.
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ftt PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book L
Tliirdly, fince we are here contemplating the Earth as a theatre of the
biftory of man, it is evidently far better, from what has been faid, that the Cre-
ator fliould have eftabliflied fomc yet undifcovered law for the formation of
mountains, than to have made it dependent on the rotatory motion of the Earth.
Had the equator, and the greater velocity of the Earth underneath it, given oc-
cafion to the origin of mountains ; the firm land would have ftretched along it
in it*s extremeft breadth, and occupied the torrid zone, which the fea now in
great meafure cools. This too would have been the central point of the hu-
man fpecies, dire&ly in the region moft debilitating both to the mental and
corporal faculties ; if indeed the prefent conftitution of things in general on the
Earth could have found place. Beneath the intenfc heat of the Sun, the mod
violent explofions of eleftric matter, the wmds, and all the jarring viciffitudes
of weather, would have driven men from the place of their birth and education,
and compelled them to retire towards the cold fouthern zone, clofe bordering on
the fervid region of the Earth, or towards tlie gelid north. But the father of
the World chofe a more favourable fpot for our origin. He placed the chief
trunk of the mountains of the old world in the temperate zone, and the moft
cultivated nations dwell at it's foot. Here he gave mankind a milder climate,
and with it a gentler nature, and a more variegated place of education : thenco
he let them wander by degrees, flrengthened and well inftruded, into hotter and
colder regions. There the primitive races could at firft live in peace, then gra-
dually draw off along the mountains and rivers, and become inured to ruder
climates. Each cultivated it's little circle, and enjoyed it, as if it had been the
univerfe. Neither fortune nor misfortune fpread itfelf fo irrefiflibly wide, as if
a probably higher chain of mountains under the equator had commanded the
whole northern and fouthern world. Thus the Creator of the World has ever
ordained things better than we could have direfted ; and the irregular form of
our Earth has efieded an end, that greater regularity could never have accom-
plilhed«
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r ^3 1
CHAPTER Vir.
Tie direSm of the mountains renders our two hemtfpheres a theatre (fthc
moßfingular variety and change.
xl E R B alfo I continue to purfue the afpeft of the general niap of the World»
In Ada the mountains ftretch along the greateft breadth of the land, and their
toot is nearly in it's middle : who would fuppofe, that in the oppofite hemi-*
fphere they would ftretch juft in a contrary direftion through the greateft
length ? Yet fo it is. This alone renders the two divifions of the World totally
different. The high land of Siberia, not only expofed to the cold north and
Aorth-eaft winds^ but cut off from the warming fouth by the primitive moun«
tains covered with eternal fnow, muft be as piercingly cold» even in many of it*g
Ibuthern parts, particularly when the faline nature of it's foil in feveral places is
confidered, as we know from defcription it is \ except where other rows of thefe
mountains could (heiter it from the (harper winds, and form more temperate
vales. But what beautiful regions extend themfelves immediately beneath thc(e
mountains, in the midft of Afia ! Thefe walls protedk them from the benumb-
ing winds of the north, and leave them only the cooling breeze. On this ac-
count Nature changed the courfe of the mountains to the fouth, and let them
run longitudinally through both the peninfulas of Hinduftan, Malacca, Cey-
lon, &c. By giving the two (ides of this country oppofite feafons, and regular
alternations^ (he rendered them the fineft di(brifts on the Earth. With the
chains of mountzuns in the interiour part of Africa we are little acquainted :
yet we know, that they interfeft this quarter of the Globe alfo both in it's
length and in it's breadth, and probably contribute much to cool it's middle.
In America again what difference ! Northward the cold north and north- weft
winds blow a long way down the land, their courfe unbroken by a (Ingle moun-
tain. They come from the wide regions of ice, which have hitherto oppo(ed
every attempt to traverfe them, and which may with propriety be termed the
ftill unknown ice-nook of the World. Thence they ftretch over extenfive tradls
of frozen land, till the climate begins to grow temperate under the Blue Moun-
tains : ftill however with fuch fudden tranfitions from cold to heat, and from
heat to cold, as in no other country ; probably becaufe throughout the whole
of this northern peninfula there is no firm conne&ed wall of mountains, to
fend off winds and ftorms, and limit their dominion. In South America on the
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24 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [Book L
other hand the winds blow from the ice of the fouth pole, and find, inftcad of
a fcreen to break their force, a chain of mountains to guide them from fouth to
north. The inhabitants of the middle regions, pleafant as they naturally arc,
muft often fink into laflitude from the heat and wet produced by the two op-
pofing powers, did not the gentle breeze from the mountains or the iea cool «nd
refrelh the land.
If now we contemplate the fteep elevation of the land, and it*s uniform moun-
tainous ridge, the difference between tlie two hemifpheres will be ftill more
ftriking and perfpicuous. The Cordilleras are the loftieft mountains in the
world : the Alps of Switzerland are little more than half their height. At
their feet the Sierras, themfelves high mountains compared with the furfacc of
tiie fea or the deep abyfs of the vales *, extend in long rows. Merely to tra-
Terfe them occafions fymptoms of naufea and fudden proftration of ftrength ia
men and beafts, unknown in the higheft mountains of the old world. At the
feet of thefe the country properly begins : and this in mod places how level,
how abruptly parting from the mountains ! At the eaftem foot of the CordiK
leras extends the great plain of the River of Amazons, fingle in it's kind ; as
the Peruvian chains of mountains, which likewife remain unfellowed. That
river, which at length increafes to a fea, has not an inclination of two-fifths of
an inch in the courfe of a thoufand feet j and a man may travel over a fpace
equal to the greateft breadth of Germany, without being advanced a fingle foot
above the level of the fea +. The mountains of Maldonado, on the River of
Plate, are of no importance compared with the Cordilleras ; fo that the whole
eaftem part of South America is to be confidered as a vaft plain, which for
thoufands of years muft have been expofed to inundations, morafles, and all the
inconveniencies of the loweft lands, and is ftill in fome meafure liable to them.
Here too the giant and the dwarf ftand fide by fide, the wildeft heights with
the profoundeft depths of which any country on Earth is capable. In the
fouthern part of North America it is precifely the lame. Louifiana is as low as
the fea that leads to it ; and this low flat extends far into the country. The
great lakes, the ftupendous cataracts, the piercing cold, of Canada and other
places, evince, that the northern regions muft be high ; and that here alfo ex-
tremes meet, though in an inferiour degree. What efFefts all thefe circum-
ftances have on plants, animals, and men, the fcquel will fliow.
• See UUoa'i Natbrichttn von Jmerika, « Ac- f Sec Leifte*$ Be/cbreihung des Pertugiefi/cbem
eount of America/ Lcipfic, 1780, with J. G. ^«#r//fii, < Defcripdon of Portngaefe America/
Schncider'i valuible additions, which greatly by Cudcna, Bnmfwic, 1 7801 p. j^, 8o.
enhance the worth of the book«
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Crap. VII.] Our two Hemifpheres a Theatre of Fariety. 25
On our hemifphere, where flic intended to prepare the firft abode of men
and animals. Nature went otherwifc to work. She extended the mountains
one after another in kngth and breadth, and fpread tlicm out into various
branches, fo that all the three quarters of the Globe might be conncfted, and,
notwithftanding the difference between regions and countries, the tranfition
from one to another might be gentle. No region here could rem.iln inundated
for ages : here thofe fwarms of infefts, amphibia, reptiles, and the reft of the
fpawn of the waters, that peopled America, were incapable of being formed. The
wafte of Kobi alone excepted, for of the Mountains of the Moon we yet know
nothing, no fuch wide expanded defer L heights penetrate the clouds, to pro-
duce and nourifli monfters in their caverns. Here, from a drier, milder com-
pounded region, the eledlric Sun could elicit finer aromatics, more lenient food,
and a more perfed organization both in man, and in all other animals.
It would be highly gratifying, had we a map of mountains, or a mountain
atlas, in which thefe pillars of the Earth were laid down, and dcpiftcd with
every circumftance, that the hiftory of man requires. The direftion and al-
titude of the mountains of many regions are pretty accurately determined : the
elevation of the land above the level of the fea, the flatc of the ground on the
furface, the flow of the rivers, the direftions of the winds, the variation of the
compafs, and the degrees of heat and cold, have been obferved in others j and
fomc of thefe have already been noted on particular charts. Tf feveral of thefc
remarks, now lying difperfed in books of travels and other publications, were
carefully coUefted, and transferred to a map j what a beautiful and inflruftive
pkyißcal geography of the Earth would the inquirer into the hiftory and natural
philofophy of man have before him at one view ! the moft precious fupple*
ment to the valuable works of Varenius, Lulof, and Bergmann. But here wc
are yet only at the threfliold : the rich harveft of information gathered in par-
ticular places by Ferber, Pailas, Sauflure, Soulavie, and others, will at fomc fu-
ture period probably be reduced to certainty and form, through the means of
the Peruvian mount.jns, perhaps the moft interefting traft in the World in re-
gard to the higher branches of natural hiftoiy.
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I 26 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
Our Earth is a grand manufaQory^ far the ^gamzation of very different beingt.
TTOWEVER cloaotic and fragmentary cveqr thing within the bowels of the
•*■-*■ E^rth appears to u«, from our inability to contemplate the original con-
ftruftion of the whole j yet we perceive, even in what we fuppofe the fmallcft
and moll unfinifhed things, a truly fixed beings ^form ^xiAfaßion dependent on
eternal laws, which no will of man can alter. Thefe laws and forms we ob-
ferve : but their intrinfic powers we know not , and what we exprefs by certain
general terms, as cohefion, extenfion, affinity, and gravitation, for inftance, con-
vey to us ideas of extrinfic relations only, without carrying us one ftcp nearer
the internal effence of things.
But what every kind of earth and ftonc poflcfles, is certainly a general law of
all the creatures of our Earth : conformation^ determinate /^»r^, diftinft exiftence.
From no being can thefe be taken j fince on thefe all it's properties and opera-
tions depend. The immeafurable chain defccnds from the creator down to the
germe of a grain of fand j for even this has it's determinate figure, in which it
often approaches the moft beautiful cryftallizations. The moft complicated
beings alfo follow the fame law in their parts : but while fo many different
powers operate in them, ultimately to compofe a whole, fo that with the mod
various component parts a general unity may prevail ; tranfitions, intermixtures,
and numeroufly divei^ng forms muft occur.
As foon as granite, the nucleus of our Earth, exifted, there was alfo light,
which in the thick vapours of our chaos aäed perhaps as fire ; there was a more
denfe and powerful air, than that we now enjoy, a more compound and pon-
derous water, to operate upon it. Penetrating acid diflblved it, and transformed
it into ftones of other kinds : perhaps the in:unenfe fands of our Earth are but the
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Chap. I.] Our Earth a grand Mamfaäory of different Beings. 2.J
aOies of this mouldered fubilanco. The inflammable matter of the air probably
converted filex into calcareous earth, and in this the firft living creatures of the
fea, fliellfifli, were formed : for throughout all nature the materials appear be-
fore the organized animated ftrufture. A ftill more powerful and pure ad):ion
of fire and of cold was requifite to cryftalli2»tion, which inclines not to the
fhelly form, exhibited by filex in it's fraftures, but to geometrical angles.
Thefe too vary according to the component parts of each individual, till they
approach the femimetals, metals, and ultimately the genpes of plants. Che-
miftry, fo zealoufly purfued of late years, opens to the philofopher a fecond
abundant creation, in the fubterraneous realms of Nature : and thefe perhaps
contain not merely the materials, but the fundamental principles, and th: key,
of every thing formed above the earth. Every where we perceive, that Nature
muft deftroy, fince (he reconftrufts ; that flie muft feparatc, fince (he recom-
bines. From fimple laws, as from ruder forms, flie proceeds to the more com-
plex, artful, and delicate : and had we a fenfe, enabling us to perceive the pri-
mitive forms and firft germcs of things, perhaps we (hould difcover in the
imalleft point the progrefs of all creation.
Confiderations of this kind, however, are not to our prefent purpofe : let u$
contemplate therefore fingly the combination, which adapted our Earth to the
oiganization of our plants, and alfo of animals and man. Had other metals
been diftributed over it, as iron now is, which we meet with every where, even
in water, earths, plants, animals, and men ; had petroleum, had fulphur, been
fpread over the furfece of the Globe in fuch quantity as we now perceive fand,
clay, and fertile mould ; how different muft have been the creatures that dwelt
on it ! creatures in which a more acrimonious temperament would have pre-
vailed. Inftead of this the father of the World has made the conftituent parts
of the vegetables, that afford us nutriment, of milder falts and oils. From the
loofe fand, tenacious clay, and mofly peat, thefe are gradually prepared : nay
the ru^ed iron ore, and hard rock, muft. gradually adapt thcinfelvcs to thefe;
mouldering in length of timie, and making room for unfucculent trees, or at
leaft for faplefs mofs ; iron being not only the wholfomeft of metals, but the
moft eafily convertible to the purpofes of vegetation and nutriment. Air and
dew, rain and fnow, water and wind, naturally manure the earth : the alcalinc
calces mixed with it artificially promote it's fertility ; and to thefe the death of
plants and animals chiefly contributes. Salutary parent ! how economical and
reftorative thy round ! All death is new life : putrefcent corruption itfelf pre-
pares health and frefli powers.
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28 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IT.
It is an old complaint, that man, inftcad of cultivating the furface of the
Earth, has dived into it's bowels, and, to the deftruftion of his health and peace,
has fought there, amid peftiferous vapours, the metals that fubferve his pride
and vanity, his avarice and ambition. That much of this is true, the effefts
thefe have produced on the face of the Earth fufficlently prove ; as do ftill more
the pallid apparitions, that, like incarcerated mummies, dig in thefe realms of
Pluto. Why is the air in thefe fo different, that, while it nourilhes metals, it is
deadly to animals and man ? why did not the creator pave the Earth with gold
and jewels, inftead of making it a law to all it's creatures, dead or living, to en-
rich themfelves from fertile mould ? Undoubtedly bccaufe we cannot eat gold i
and becaufe the fmallcft edible plant is not only more ufeful to us, but more
pcrfcftly organized, and nobler in it's kind, than the moft coftly gem, whether
we call it amethyft or fapphire, emerald or diamond.
Yet let us not carry this point too far. Among the various periods of human
nature, which it's creator forefaw, and which, from the ftrudure of our Earth,
he appears to have promoted, are included thofe ftates, in which man ihould learn
to dig into it's bowels, and fly o'^erit's furface. Thus the creator placed various
metals in their pure ftate almoft before man's eyes : thus the rivers were deftined
to waOi the foil firom the earth, and (how him it's treafures. Even the moft
favage nations have difcovered the utility of copper; and theufeof iron, which
with it's magnetic power feems to govern the whole Globe, has almoft alone ex-
alted our fpecies from one ftep of cultivation to another. If man be to make
the beft ufe of his habitation, he muft learn to know it : and his governor has
appointed him fufficiently narrow limits, in which to inveftigate, difpofe, faQiion,
and alter it.
Stili it is true, that we are principally deftmed to creep as worms on the fur-
face of our Earth, on it to improve ourfelves, and fpend our (hort lives. How«>
ever great man may be deemed, we perceive his littlenefs in the domains of Na«
ture, fiom the thin ftratum of fruitful mould, which alone is properly his territoiy.
A few feet deeper he digs up things, on which nothing grows, and that require years
and ages, to produce only meagre grafs. Still deeper, he often finds again, where he
did not feek it, his fruitful foil, once the furface of the Earth, but which chang-
ing Nature (pared not in her pr<^reffive periods. Mufcles and fnails lie on
mountains; aquatic and land animals are found petrified in ftones; and foffil
wood, and impreffions of flowers, are often difcovered near fifteen hundred feet
deep» Poor mortal I thou wandered: not on the furfiu:e of thy Earth, but on a
covering of thy hou(e> which muft have experienced many deluges, ere it could
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Chap. I.] Our Earth a p^and ManufaSlory of different Beings. 29
become what it is. There grow for thee a little grafs, a few trees; the parent
of which has furrounded thee likewife with cafualties, and on which thou liveft
the worm of a day.
CHAPTER ir.
The vegetable kingdom of our Earth confidered with refpeä, to the hiflory of man^
Th e vegetable kingdom has a higher fpecies of organization than any mineral
produftion, and fo ample an extent, that, while on the one hand it lofes itfelf in
this, on the other it approaches the animal kingdom. Plants have a fort of life,
and fucceffion of ages j they have fexes and generative powers ; they are born
and die. The furface of the earth was adapted to them, before it was fit for
man or animals : every where they preffed before thefc, and in the fhape of
grafs, of mofs, or of mucor, covered the bare rock, yet untrodden by the foot of
any living creature. Where a fingle grain of light earth could receive a feed,
and a ray of the Sun warm it, a plant fprung up, to die a prolific death, as it's
duft would conftitute a better matrix for other plants. Thus were the rocks
covered with herbs and flowers : thus in time morafles became wilds of plants
and flirubs. The putrefadlion of the native vegetable creation is Nature's in-
ceflkntly operating hot-bed of organization, and the farther culture of the
Earth.
It is obvious, that human life, as far as it is vegetation, has the fate of plants.
As thefe, fo man and animals are produced from feed \ which too, like the
germe of a future tree, requires a matrix. Plantlike it's firft form is deve-
loped in the womb: and, out of it, does not the ftrufture of our fibres, in their
firft buds and powers, nearly refemble that of the fibres of the fenfitive plant ?
Our ages too are the ages of a plant : we fpring up, grow, bloom, wither, and
die. We arc called forth without our confent : no one is afked of what fex he
•will be; from what parents he will defcend j on what fpot he will be born to
poverty or wealth ; or by what internal or external caule he will at laft be
brought to his end. In all thefe man muft obey fuperiour laws, over whicli
he has as little power as a plant j nay, which his ftrongeft propenfities follow
almoft againft his will. As long as man is growing, and the fap rifes in him,
how fpacious and pleafant feems to him the World ! He ftretches out his
branches, and fancies his head will reach the heavens. Thus Nature entices him
forward in life ; till with eager powers, and unwearied exertion, he has acquired
all the capacity die wiftied to call forth in him, on that field, or in that garden.
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30 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. IBook n,
in which he had been planted by her hand. After he has accompliflied her
purpofc, flie gradually abandons him* In the bloom of fpring, and of our
youth, with what riches does nature every where abound ! Man believes this
world of flowers will produce the feeds of a new creation. Yet a few months,
how changed the fcene ! Almoft all the flowers are gone, and a few unripe
fruits fuccecd. The tree labours to bring thefe to maturity j and immediately
the leaves fade. He (heds his withered locks on the beloved children, that have
left him : leaflefs he flands ; the ftorm robs him of his dried branches : till at
length he falls to the ground, and refigns the little phlogifton he contains to
the foul of Nature,
Is it otherwife with man, confidercd as a plant ? What vaft hopes, profpefts,
and motives of adlion, vividly or obfcurely fill his youthful mind ! In every
thing he confides : and while he confides he fucceeds : for fuccefs is the fpoufe
of youth. In a few years all around him is changed ; merely becaufe he is no
longer the fame. Lead of all has he perfofmed what he willed : and happy is
it for him, if he be not now defirous to perform what it is no longer time to
execute, but fuffer himfelf to grow old in peace. In the eye of a fuperiour
being, man's aftions upon Earth may appear jull as important, certainly at leafl:
as determinate and circumfcribed« as the adions and enterprifes of a tree.
He developes all he can develope ; and makes himfelf mafter of all, that it is
in his power to poflefs. He puts forth buds and germes, produces fruits, and
fows young trees : but never quits he the place, which Nature has appointed
him to occupy j never can he acquire a fingle power, which Nature has not
planted in him.
Particularly himiiliating It is, in my opinion, to man, that in the fweet im-
pulfe he terms love, in which he places fo much fpontaneity, he obeys the laws
of Nature almoft as blindly as a plant. Even the thiftle, man obferves, is beau-
ful when in flower : and we know, that in plants the time of flowering is the
feafon of love. The calyx is the bed, the corolla the curtain ; the other parts
of the flower are the organs of generation, which in thefe innocent beings Nature
has expofed to view, and adorned with all fplendour. The flowercup of love
(he has made like the bridal bed of Solomon, and a cup of pleafure even for
other creatures. Why did flie all this ? and why interwove flie alfo in the band
of human love the moft pleafing charms, that graced her own ceftus f That her
great end might be accompliflied ; not the little purpofe of the fenfual crea-
ture alone, which flie fo elegantly adorned: this end is tie propagaumu tfi£ com-
tinuance of the fpecies.
Nature employs germes, flie employs an infinite number of germes, becaufe in
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Ch A p . n.] The vegetable King Jem of etir Earth eonßdered. 3 1
her grand progreß fhe promotes a thoufand ends at once. She muft alfo calculate
upon fome lofs ; as every thing is crowded, and nothing finds room completely
to develope itfelf. But that, amid this apparent prodigality, the eiTential, and
the firft, frefli powers of life, with which (he muft neceflarily prevent all acci-
dents in the courfe of beings fo thronged, might never fail ; fhe made the fea-
fon of youth the feafon of love, and kindled her torch with the moft fubtile
and aftive fire between Earth and Heaven. Unknown inclinations awake, of
which childhood was wholly infenfible. The eye of the youth becomes ani-
mated, his voice changes, the cheek of the maiden glows : two creatures figh for
each other, and know not for what they figh : they languifli to become one,
which dividing Nature has denied; and fwim on a fea of deception. Sweetly de-
ceived creatures, enjoy your moments : yet know, ye accomplifli not your own
little dreams, but, pleafingly compelled, the grand purpofe of Nature. In the
firft pair of a fpecies flie would plant all, generation upon generation : (he chofe
therefore the fprouting germes from the moft fpirited moments of life, thofe of
mutual delight : and while ftealing from a living being fomething of his exift«
cnce, (he would at leaft ftcal it from him in the gentleft manner. As foon as
fhe has (ecured the fpecies, (he fufTers the individual gradually to decay. Scarcely
is the feafon of love over, when the (lag lofes his proud antlers 5 the bird, it's
fong, and much of it's beauty; the fifh, it's delicate flavour; and the plant, it's
moft beautiful colours. The butterfly lofes it's wings, and it's breath departs 1
while alone, and undebilitated, it might live half the year. So long as the
young plant produces no flower, it can refift the winter's cold : but that which
bears too foon, fooneft decays. The american aloe frequently lives a hundred
years: but when once it has bloflTomed, no procefs, no art can prevent the fu-
perb ftalk from decaying the next year. In five and thirty years the great fan
palm grows to the height of feventy feet ; it then grows thirty feet higher in
the fpace of four months; when it blofToms, produces fruit, and the fame year
it dies. This is the courfe of nature, in the evolution of beings one out of an*
other : the ftream flows on, though one wave is loft in the wave that fucceeds.
In the diflcmination and degeneration of plants there is a fimilitude obferv*
able, that will apply to beings of a fuperiour order, and prepares us for the views
and laws of Nature. Each plant requires it's proper climate ; to which apper-
tains not merely the conftitution of the land and foil, but alfo the elevation of
the country, the quality of the air and water, and the degree of temperature.
Under the earth all things lie mingled together: and though every fpecies of ftone,
cryftal, or metal, derives it's qualities from the land in which it grows, and
hence the moft ftriking varieties occur; we have by no means attained that ge-
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3* PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book II.
neral geographical view of thefc realms of Pluto, and acquired that knowledge of
their principles of arrangement, at which we have arrived in the beautiful do-
mains of Flora. The Philofopky of Botany *, which arranges plants according to
the elevation and quality of the land, air, water, and temperature, is an obvious
guide to a fimilar philofophy in the arrangement of animals and men.
All plants grow wild in fome part or other of the World. Thofe, which wc
cultivate with art, fpring from the free lap of Nature, and arrive at much greater
l^rfeftion, in their proper climes. With animals, and with man, it is the fame :
for every race of men, in it's proper region, is organized in the manner moft na-
tural to it. Every foil, every fort of mountains, every fimilar region of the at-
mofphere, as well as a like degree of heat and cold, nourifhes it's own plants.
On the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the rocks of Lapland, notwithftanding their dif-
tance, the fame, or fimilar, vegetables grow. North America and the expanded
heights of Tatar}' produce the fame ofFspring, On thofe elevated places,
where plants arc rudely agitated by the winds, and the fummer is of fliort du-
ration, they remain fmall in ftature indeed ; but then they abound with feeds
innumerable : when tranfplanted into gardens, they grow higher, and put forth
larger leaves, while they bear lefs fruit Every one muft perceive the vifible
fimilarity to animals and men. All plants love the open air : in hothoufes
they feek the region of light, even if they be obliged to creep through a hole
to it. In a confined heat they run up more tall and (lender, but paler, lels
fruitful, and, if they be too fuddenly expofed to the Sun, their leaves droop.
Has not a forced and tender education the fame efTedts on man and animals ?
Diverfity of region and air produces varieties in plants, as in animals and man :
and the more they gain in refpeft to beauty, form of the leaf, or number of
flowers, the more they lofe in point of fertility. Is it otherwife with man or
animals, if we confider the greater flrength of their multifarious nature } Plants,
that in warm countries attain the height of trees, in cold ones become crippled
dwarfs. One plant is calculated for the fea, another for morafles, a third for
rivers or lakes; one loves fnow, another the deluging rains of the torrid zone:
and all thefe their form and figure indicate. Does not this prepare us, to ex-
pedt funilar varieties in the organic ftru&ure of man^ fo fiu* as he is a plant }
* The Pbiloßphia hotanica of Linne is a JeUFranct mtridietudt, ' Natural Hiflory of the
cUflical pattern for other fciences. Had we a South of France/ Part II, Tome I» has given a
Pbilo/opbia anthropoUgica written with the fame Ütetch'of a general phyfical geography of the
concifenefs and accuracy, it would be a clew, vegeuble kingdom, and promiled to extend il
which every additional obferviition (hou'd fol- to animals and to man.
low. The abbe Soulavir, in his Hifi, naturtlli
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Chap. II.] Vhe vegetable Kingdom of our Earth conßdeied. 33
It is particularly pleafing, to obfen-e the fingular manner, in which plants ad-
juft themfelves to the fcafon of the year, nay to the hour of the day, and become
inured only by degrees to a foreign climate. Near tlie pole they are later in
growth, and ripen fo much the quicker, as the fummer arrives more late, and
operates more forcibly. Plants, that grow in fouthern countries, when brought
to Europe ripen later the firft year, as they wait for the fun of their own clime :
the following fummers they arrive earlier and Earlier at maturity, as they be-
come habituated to their fituation. In the artificial warmth of a hothoufe,each
follows it's native feafons \ even if it have been fifty years in Europe. The
plants of the Cape blofTom in winter, as then arrives the fummer of their native
country. The marvel of Peru bloflbms at night ; probably, obferves Linnc,
becaufe it is then day in America, whence it originally came. Thus every one
adheres to the time, even to the hour of the day, at which it has been wont to
open and fliut. * Thefe circumftances,' fays the philofophic botanift *, * feem
to indicate, that fomething more than heat and water is requifite to their
growth:' and afluredly in the organic varieties of man, and his naturalizing
himfelf to a foreign climate, fomething more, fomething different from heat
and cold, is to be confidered, particularly when we fpeak of another liemi-
fpherc.
Finally, what a field of obfervation is opened to us, in the alTociation of plants
with man, could we purfue it ! Already has the pleafmg experiment been
made -f-, that plants can no more live in pure air than we j but what they im-
bibe from the atmofphcre is precifely that phlogiftic part, which deftroys animal
life, and promotes putrefaction in all animal fubflances. It has been obferved,
that they perform this ufeful office of purifying the air, not by the aid of heat,
but by that of light ; for the chill beams of the Moon are fufficient to efTedl the
purpofe. Salutary children of the Earth ! what deftroys us, what we expire
contaminated, you inhale : the moft delicate medium muft combine it with
you, and you render it us again pure. You maintain the health of thofe crea-
tures, that deftroy you : and even in your deaths you are beneficent j for you
improve* the Earth, and fertilize it for new beings of your own fpecies.
If plants ferved for this alone, their filent exiftence would conftitute a beau-
tiful intermixture among men and animals : but fince they are at the fame time
the moft abun:lant nutriment of the animal creation, and it is of particular im-
portance in the hiftory of the modes of life of man, to obfcrve what plants and
• Seethe TranGiftions of the Swredilh Academy of Sciences, vol. I, p. 6, and following,
t Ingcnhoufz's Verfucbc mit din Pflanfun, « Experiments on Plants/ Lcipfic, 1780, p. 49.
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34 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IL
animals, that might fervc them for food, every people found in their native
country, they prcfent thcmfclves to us under various afpefts in confidering the
kingdoms of Nature.
Of beads the moft quiet, and moft humane, if we may ufe the expreflion, feed
on vegetables. Nations, that live principally at leaft on the fame food, have
been remarked for the fame falutary peaceablenefs, and carelefs ferenity. All
carnivorous beads arc naturally more favage. Man, who ranks between the two,
cannot be a carnivorous animal, to judge from the drufturc of his teeth. There
are yet nations, whofc diet confids chiefly of milk and vegetables ; in earlier
times there were more : and what abundance has Nature bedowed on them in
the pulps, juices, fruits, barks, and twigs, of her vegetable creation, where one
tree frequently affords nourifhment for a whole family ! Wonderfully is every
region appointed it's own, not merely in what it yields, but in what it attrafts
and removes. Thus while plants live on the phlogidic part of the atmofphere,
and in fome meafure on vapours mod pernicious to us ; their antidotal qualities
are organized according to the peculiarities of each region, and they every where
prepare fuch medicaments for animal bodies, always prone to corruption, as are
adapted to the difeafes of the country. Man, too, has little reafon to complain,
that Nature produces noxious vegetables j for thefe are in fa<fl the excretory
dufts of poifons, fo that they contribute greatly to the general falubrity of the
region ; at the fame time that they are in his hands, as well as in thofe of Nature,
the mod efficacious medicines. Seldom has man exterminated any fpecies of
plant or animal from a country, without foon perceiving the mod palpable detri-
ment to it's habitablenefs : and has not Nature bedowed on every animal, and
alfo on man, fenfes and organs fufficient to difcover fuch plants as are ufeful to
them, and rejeft fuch as are noxious ?
What a pleafing ramble among trees and plants would it afibrd, to purfuc
thefe great natural laws of their utility and cfledb in the animal and human
kingdoms through the various regions of the Earth ! We mud content our-
felves as we go along to pluck occafionally a few flowers in this immenfe field,
and recommend to fome one, particularly fkiUed in the fcicnce, our wifli for an
nniverjal botanical geoprapfty far the hißory of man.
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I 35 ]
CHAPTER III.
TJie animal Kingdom in relation to the Hißory of Alan,
Beasts are the elder brethren of man. Before he was, they were. Every
country the alien man found at his arrival already occupied, at leaft in fome of
the elements : otherwife on what but vegetables could the ftranger have fed f
Thus every hiftory of man, which confiders him without this relation, muft be
partial and defeftive. The World, it is true, was given to man : but not to
him alone, not to him firft : animals in every element render his monarchy
queftionable. One fpecies he muft tame : with another he muft long contend.
Some efcape his dominion: others W2^e with him eternal war. In fliort,
every (pecies extends it's pofleiSon of the Earth in proportion to it's capacity.
cunning, ftrength, or courage.
It is not here the queftion, whether man have reafon, and beafts have none.
If they have not, they have fome other advantages : for affuredly Nature has
left none of her offspring unprotected. Were a creature neglefted by her,
from whom could it obtain fuccour ? fince the whole creation is at war, and
the moft oppofite powers are found fo clofe to each other. Here godlike man
is annoyed by fnakes, there by vermin : here a ihark devours him, there %
tiger. Each ftrives with each, as each is prefled upon ; each muft provide fcMT
his own fubfiftence, and defend his own life.
Why ads Nature thus ? and why does (he thus crowd her creatures one
upon another ? Becaufe (he would produce the greateft number and variety
of living beings in the leaft fpace, fo that one crufhes another, and an equili*
brium of powers can alone produce peace in the creation. Every {pecies cares
for itfelf, as if it were the only one in exiftence : but by it's fide ftands another,
which confines it within due bounds : and in this adjuftment of oppofing fpe-
cies creative Nature found the only mean of maintaining the whole. She
weighed the powers, (he numbered the limbs, (he determined the inftinds of
the (pecies toward eacli other j and left the Earth to produce what it was
capable of producing.
I concern myfelf not, therefore, whether whole fpecies of animals have peri(hed
firom the face of the. Earth. Has the mammoth difappeared ? fo have giants.
When thefe exifted, the relations between the feveral creatures were different : as
things at prefent are, we perceive an evident equilibrium, not only over the whole
Earth, but in particular regions and countries. Agriculture may re(bift beafts
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36 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boorll.
to narrower limits : but it cannot cafily exterminate them. At leaft it ha»
not accompli filed this in any extenfive region j and it has foftered a greater
number of tame animals, in lieu of the wild ones it has diminiflied. Thus in
the prefent conftitution of our Earth no fpecies of animals has been loft : though
I queftion not but others may havccxifted, when it's conftitution was different;
and if at any future period Art or Nature (hould completely change it» a
different relation between living creatures would take place.
Man, in (hort, entered an inhabited world. All the elements, rivers and
morafics, earth and air, were filled or filling, with living creatures : and he had
to make room for his dominion by his godlike qualities, fkill and power. How
heeffcfted this conftitutcs the hiftory of his cultivation, the moft interefting part
of the hiftory of man, which embraces even the rudeft nations. I muft here
obfcnre once for all, that man acquired chiefly from beads themfelves that
information, which enabled him gradually to obtain his dominion over them.
Thefe were the living fparks of the divine underflanding, the rays of which,
as they related to food, habits of life, clothing, addrefs, arts, or inftinfts, he
condenfed within himfelf, from a greater or finaller circle. The more, the
clearer, he did this, the more artful the beafts around him were, the more he
familiarized himfelf with them, and the more fecurcly he dwelt with them in
fricndfliip or hoftility ; the more did he gain in point of improvement ; fo that
the hiftory of hb cultivation is in great meafure zoological and geographical.
Secondly : as the varieties of foil and climate, of ftones and plants, on our
Earth, are fo great j how much greater are the varieties of it's properly living
inhabitants ! Let us not, however, confine thefe to the earth : for the air, the
water, nay the internal parts of plants and animals, all fwarm with life. Innu-
merable multitudes, for whom, as well as for man, the World was created !
Moving furface of the Earth, on which all, as wide and as deep as the fun-
beams extend, is enjoyment, life, and aftion !
I mean not here to enter into the general propofition, that every animal has
it's element, it's climate, it's proper place of abode j that fome fpecies are little
difFufed, others more, and a few almoft as widely as man himfelf; for on this
point we have a profomid work, compiled with fcientific indufbry, Zimmer-
mann's Geographical Hiftory of Man, and univerfally-difleminated Quadru-
peds*. What I fhall here point out will be a few particular remarks, which
we fhall find confirmed by the hiftory of man.
I. Thofc fpecies, that inhabit nearly all parts of the Globe, arc differently
* Geograpbifcbe Gtfcbihu dts Men/cben und dir allgemtin-'verbreiuten vitrftßgen Tbiere : Leipfic*
1778—83; ia three volumes : with an elegant and accurate zoological map of tlie World.
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Chap. III.] fhe animal Kingdom in relation to the Hl/loiy of Man, 37
formed in almoft every climate. In Lapland the dog is fmall and ugly ; in
Siberia he is better (haped, but ftill has pricked ears, and no confiderable
magnitude : in thofe countries, fays Buffon, where we meet with the hand-
fomeft races of men, we obfervc the handibmeft and largeft dogs : within the
arftic and antardtic circles the dog lofes his voice, and in the wild ftate he refem-
bles the jackal. In Madagafcar the ox has a hump on his back weighing fifty
pounds, which gradually difappears in diftant countries ; and this animal varies
greatly in colour, fize, ftrength, and courage, in almoft every region of the
Earth. An european flieep acquires at the Cape of Good Hope a tail nine-
teen pounds in weight: in Iceland he puts out as many as five horns: in the
county of Oxford, in England, he grows to the fize of an afs : and in Turkey
his flwin is variegated like a tiger's. Thus do all animals vary ; and (hall not
man, who is alfo in the ftrudture of his nerves and mufclcs an animal, change
with the climate ? According to the analogy of nature, it would be a miracle,
did he remain unchanged.
2. All the tame animals we have were formerly wild j and of moft the wild
races, from which they are defcended, are ftlll to be found, particularly in the
afiatic moyntains : the very place which was probably the native country of
man, at leaft in our hemifpherc. and the fource of his cultivation. The greater
the diftance from this region, particularly where the intercourfc with it is dif-
ficult, the fewer the fpecies of tame animals, tiJl at length, the fwine, the dog,
and the cat, are the fole animal wealth of New Guinea, New Zealand, and the
iflands of the Pacific Ocean.
3. America has chiefly animals peculiar to it, perfcftly adapted to it's cli-
mate, and fuch as muft naturally be produced from it's immenfe heights, and
long inundated valleys. It had few large animals« and ftill fewer tame or
tameable ones: but then it had proportionally more fpecies of bats,armadilloes,
rats and mice, the unau, the ai,fwarms of infefts, amphibia, toads, lizards, and
the like* Any one may conceive what influence this muft have on the hiftory
of man.
4. In regions where the powers of nature are moft aftive, where the heat of the
Sun is combined with regular winds, great inundations, violent explofionsof
the cledlric fluid, and in fliort with every thing in nature, that produces life,
and is called vivifying j we find the ftrongeft, largeft, boldeft, and moft perfect
animals, as well as the mroft aromatic plants. Africa has it's herds of elephants,
zebras, deer, apes, and buffaloes : in it the lion, the tiger, the crocodile, the
hippopotamus, appear in full force : the loftieft trees flioot up into the air,
adorned with the richeft, juicieft, and moft ufeful fruits. Every man knows
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3« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book II.
how Afia abounds in plants and animals : and they are mod abundant where
the eledlric power of the Sun, the air, the earth, is moft copious. On
the contrary, where this operates more feebly and irregularly, as in cold coun-
tries, or where it is repelled or confined in water, lixivious falts, or damp woods ;
thofe creatures, to the formation of which the free play of eledtricity is requi-
fite, feem never to be developed. Sluggifli heat -combined with moifture pro-
duces fwarms of infefts and amphibia; not thofe wondrous forms of the old
world, that glow with vivid fire. The mufcular force of the lion, the fpring
and eye of the tiger, the acute fagacity of the elephant, the delicacy of the an-
telope, and the malicious cunning of the african or afiatic ape, are unknown to
every bead of the new world. Among thefe one feems to have difengaged
himfelf with difficulty from the warm flime, another wants teeth; of one
the feet and claws are defeftive, of another the tail ; and mod are deficient in
fize, courage, and fwiftnefs. Thofe that inhabit the mountains are more ani-
mated ; but they equal not the beads of the old world, and in the coriaceous
or fcaly frames of mod the ekdkric dream is evidently wanting.
5. Finally, it is probable, that there are dill greater Angularities to be ob-
ferved in animals, than thofe we have already remarked in plants : their oft un-
natural qualities, for indance, and flow familiarization to a foreign and antipo-
dal climate. The american bear, defcribed by Linnc *, obferved the day and
night of America even in Sweden. From midnight till noon he flept, and
from noon till midnight he rambled, as if it were his american day: thus with
his other indinäs retaining his native divifion of time. Is not this remark
applicable to others, from different regions of the Earth, from the eadern or
fouthern hcmifpheres ? and if this change hold good with refpcdl to beads,
ihall man^ notwithdanding his peculiar charaäer, be exempt from it ?
CHAPTER IV.
Man is a Creature of a middle kind among terr^rial Animals,
I. Wheu Linne reckoned 230 (pecies of viviparous animals, among which
he included fuch as are aquatic, he enumerated 946 of birds, 292 of amphibia,
404of filhes, 3o6oof infedts, and 1205 of worms -f. The beads then were
• Tranfadlions of the Swedifh Academy of infers, and 4,036 worms. Thefc numbers, ex»
Sciences, vol. IX, p. 300. cept with regard to the amphibia, coincide
f In the lad edition of Linne's Sjßema Natu- extreme]/ well with Herder's obfervation and
r«r, by Gmelin, there are 557 mammalix, inference. T.
s«686 birds, 366 amphibia, 889 fiflies, 10,896
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Chaf. IV.] Man a Creatttre of a middle kind among ierreftrial Animals. 39
fcweft in number, and the amphibia, which moft refemble them, came next. In
the air, in the water, in morafles, and in the fandy deferts, the genera and fpc-
cics increafe ; and I am pcrfuadcd, the farther we extend our difcoverics, we (hall
ftill find them increafe in nearly the fame proportion. When, after the death of
Linne, the viviparous animals were carried to the number of 450, BufFon reck-
oned up 2,000 birds ; and Forfter alone difcovered, during a (hort refidence
among fome of the South Sea iilands, 109 new fpecies, though not a fingle
new quadruped was to be found. If the fame proportion hold, and in future
times more new infefts, birds, and reptiles, than perfeftly new fpecies of qua-
drupeds become known, however many there be in the j'et unexplored regbns
of Afirica; we may in all probability lay it down as a faft, that the clajfes of
creatures extend^ the farther they differ from man ; and the nearer they are to him^
the fewer are the fpecies of the more perfeS animals as they are called.
2. Now it is inconteftable, that amid all the differences of earthly crea-
tures a certain uniformity of ftrufture, and as it were a fiandard form^ appear
to prevail, convertible into the moft abundant variety. The fimilitude of the
bony frame of land animals is obvious : head, body, hands, and feet, are the
chief parts in all i and even their principal limbs are fafhioned after one pro-
totype, but infinitely divcrfified. The internal ftrufture of beafts renders the
propofition ftill more evident ; and many rude external figures ftrongly refem«
ble man in the principal internal parts. Amphibia deviate more firom this
fiandard : birds, fifties, infedls, and aquatic animals, the laft of which are loft
in the vegetable or foffil world, ftill more. Farther our eyes cannot penetrate:
but theie tranfitions render it not improbable, that in marine produftions^
plants, and even inanimate things as they are called, one and the fame
groundwork of organis^ation may prevail, though infinitely more rude and
confiifed. In the eye of the eternal being, who views all things in one con-
oeded whole, perhaps the form of the icy particle as it is generated, and the
flake of fnow that grows from it, may have an analogous refemblance to the
fonnation of the embryo in the female womb. Accordingly we may admit
the lecond grand pofition: that, the nearer they approach man, all creatures bear
more or lefs refemblance to him in their grand outline ; and that Nature^ amid the
infinite variety ße hues, feems to have faßioned all the living creatures on our
Earth after one grand model of organization.
3. Tlius it is felf-evident, that, as this ftandard form muft be continually va-
lying, according to the race, fpecies, deftination, and elements, one copy iUuftrates
another. What Nature has given to one animal as acceffory, flie has made fun-
damental in another i bringing it forward to the view, amplifying it, and mak-
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40 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor II.
ing the other parts, though ftill in perfefk harmony, fubfervicnt to this. EHe-
where again thefe fubfervient parts predominate ; fo that all the beings of the
organic creation appear as disjeSli membra poeta. He who would ftudy them
muft ftudy one in another : where a part appears negleAed or concealed, he
recurs to another creature, in which Nature has finiflicd and difplaycd it. This
pofition too is confirmed in all the phenomena of diverging beings.
4. To conclude : man feems to be among animals that excellent middle
creature, in whom the moft numerous and fubtlle rays of fimilar forms are col-
lefted, as far as confifts with the peculiarity of his deftination. He could not
comprife in himfelf all in like degree ; fo that to one animal he is inferiour in
the acutencfs of a particular fenfe, to another in ftrength of mufcles, to a third
in elafticity of fibre ; but as much as could be united was united in him. He
has the limbs, inftinAs, fenfes, faculties, and arts, common to all quadrupeds;
if not hereditary, at leaft acquired j if not perfeft, at leaft in their rudiments.
Were we to compare with him thofc animals, that approach him neareft, we
might almoft venture to fay, they are divergent rays from his image, refraÄed
through catoptric glaffes. And thus we may admit the fourth pofition : that
man is a middle creature among animals y that isy the mofl perfe& /on», in which tks
features of all are colle^ed in the mofl exquißte fummary.
I hope the fimilitude between man and beads, of which I ipeak, will not be
confounded with that fport of the imagination, which has difcovered refem-
blances of the limbs of man in plants, and even ftones, and on thefe built
fyftems. Every rational man laughs at thefe fancies ; for creative Nature co-
vers and conceals internal fimilarity of ftrudlure under diflimilitude of exter-
nal form. How many beafts, altogether unlike man in outward appearance,
are internally, in the ftrudure of the fkeleton, the principal parts of fenfation
and vitality, nay in the vital funftions, ftrikingly fimilar to him ! This will be
evident to any one, who perufes the diffeftions of Daubenton, Perrault, Pallas,
and other academicians. For children and youth natural hiftory muft content
itfelf with fome diftinftions of outward form, to aflift the eye and memory :
the man and the philofopher inveftigate both the external and internal ftruc-
ture of the animal, to compare them with his mode of life, and find his cha-
rader and place. With refpedb to plants this has been called the natural me-
thod ; and comparcitlve anatomy is the guide, that muft lead to it ftep by ftep
in animals. This naturally gives man a clew to himfeif which condufts him
through the great labyrinth of the living creation : and if we can fay of any me-
thod, that through it our underftanding ventures to fcrutinize the profound
comprehenfive mind of God, it muft be this. In every deviation from rule.
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Chap. JH.] Man is a Creature cfa nuddle kind among terrtßrial Animals, 41
which the fupremc artificer prcfents to us as a law of the polyclete in man, we
arc referred to a caufe : why did he here deviate ? to what end formed he others
in a diflFerent manner ? and thus earth, air, and water, nay even the profounded
depths of the animate creation, are to us a repofitory of his thought» and inven-
tions towards a grand model of art and wifdom.
What a great and rich profpe£t does this point of view give us of the hiftory
of beings fimilar and diffimilar to us ! It divides the kingdoms of nature, and
the clafles of creatures, according to their elements, and connefts them with
each other. Even in the moft remote the wide-extended radius may be feen
proceeding from one and the fame centre. From air and water, from heights
and depths, I fee the animals coming to man, as they came to the firft father
of our race, and ftep by ftep approaching his form. The bird flies in the air :
every deviation of it's figure from the ftpufture of the quadruped is explicable
from it's element : and no fooner does it approach the earth in a hideous equi-
vocal genus, as in the bat and vampire, but it refembles the human ikeleton.
The fifh fwims in the water : it's feet and hands are transformed into tail and
fins : it's limbs have few articulations. When, as in the manatee,, it touches
the earth, it's forefeet at leaft are fet free, and the female acquires breads. The
feabear and (ealion have all their four feet perceptible, though they cannot ufe
the hinder ones, the toes of which drag after them as ihreds of fins. They
creep about, however, flowly, as well as they can, to baik thcmfelvcs in the
beams of the Sun ; and are raifed at leaft one fhort ftep above the ftupid (hape-
kfs feadog. Thus from the flime of the worm, from the calcareous abode of
the fliellfifh, from the web of the infeft, a better limbed and fupcriour organi-
zation gradually rifes. Through the amphibia we afcend to quadrupeds : and
among thefe, even in the difgufting unau, with his three fingers and two breads
before, the nearer analogy to our form is already vifible. Now Nature fports
and exercifes herfelf round man, in the greateft variety of /ketches and organi-
zations. She divides modes of life and inftinAs, and forms fpecies inimical to
each other : yet all thefe apparent contradiAions lead to one end. Thus it is
anatomically and phyfiologically true, that the analogy of one organization
prevails through the whole animated creation of our Globe : only the farther
from man, the more the vital element of the creature differs from his, and
Nature, ever true to herfelf, muft proportionally deviate from his ftandard of
organization : the nearer him, the clofer has die drawn together the clafles and
radii, to combine what die could in him, the divine centre of the terredrial
creation. Rejoice in thy fituation, O man ; and ftudy thyfcif, thou noble mid-
dle creature, m all that lives around rhee !
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I 4» 3
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY,
BOOK III.
CHAPTER I.
fie Stru5iure of Plants and Animals compared with regard to the Organization
of Man.
THE iirft mark, that difUnguifhes an animal to our eyes» is the mouth.
Still a plant is, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, all mouth : it fucks with roots,
leaves, and pores : like an infant it lies in the lap of it's mother, and at her
bread. As foon as a creature attains the organization of an animal, a moutU
is obfervable in it, even before any head can be diftinguilhed. The arms of the
polypus are mouths : in worms, where few internal parts arc difcernible, an ali-
mentary canal may be feen ; and in many animals with (hells the paflage to this
canal, as if it were ftUl a root, is fituate at the inferiour part of the creature.
Thus Nature forms this canal iirft in her animate beings, and retains it in thofe
that are of the moft perfeft organization. Infedts in the ftate of larvs are little
more than mouth, ftomach, and inteftines : the form of amphibia and ßflies»
nay even of birds and of beafts, is alfo adapted to this ftrufture, in the horizon-
tality of their pofition. The higher wc afcend, however, the more complicated
are the parts. The aperture diminifhes, the ftomach and inteftines lie deeper :
at length, with the ere£k pofition of man, externally the mouth, always the moft
prominent part in the bead of the beaft, recedes under the higher organization
of the brow j nobler parts fill the breaft, and the organs of nutrition fink down
to the lower regions. The nobler creature is not intended to be the flave of his
belly alone, the dominion of which is fo ample and extenfive among all the clafles
of his inferiour brethren, with regard both to the bodily parts, and vital func-
tions.
Thus the firft grand law, that the inftinA of a living creature obeys, is nutria
tion, Beafts have it in common with plants : for thofe parts of their frame, by
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Chap. I.] PlatUs and Animah compared with Man. 43
which food is drawn in and concofted, prepare juices, and refenible vegetables
in their ftrufture. The more exquifite organization, alone, in which Nature
has placed thefc parts, and the fuperiour combination, depuration, and elabora-
tion of the vital juices, gradually contribute, according to the clafs and fpecics,
to the finer ftream, that irrigates the nobler parts, the more Nature has circum-
fcribed thofc of the inferiour order. Proud man, call thine eye back on the firft
neceffitous fituation of thy fellow creatures : thou beared it ftill about thee :
thou art an alimentary canal, like thine inferiour brethren.
Nature, however, has exalted us infinitely above them. The teeth, that in
infers and other beails muft perform the ofHce of hands, to hold and to tear
their fpoil ; the jaws, that aft with wonderful force in fifhes, and beails of prey;
are nobly fet back in man, and their ftill inherent ffarength is moderated *. The
many ftomachs of inferiour creatures are united into one in him, and in fome
other animals, which internally approach his form ; and his mouth is rendered
div'me by the faculty of fpeech, the pureft gift of the deity. Worms, infefts,
fifhes, and moft amphibia, are perfeftly dumb : the bird fings only with his
throat : each beaft has but a few predominant founds, juft fufficient for the
maintenance of the fpecies : man alone poflefTes real organs of fpeech, combined
with thofe of taftc and nutrition j the nobleft in conjunftion with marks of the
loweft neceflSty. That which prepares food for the meaner body prepares alfo
in words the nutriment of his thoughts.
The fecond vocation of the creature is the propagation of tie fpecies. The def-
tination to this is evident even in the ftrufture of plants. To what are roots
and flcm, leaves and branches, fubfervient ? to what has Nature given the
higheft or moft feleft fituation? To iht flower^ the crowns and we have al-
ready feen, that in this are the genital organs of plants. This then conftitutes
the principal and moft beautiful part of the creature : the life, the funftions,
the pleafure, of the plant, nay it's fole motion that is in appearance voluntary,
what we call thefleep of plants^ are contrived for the perfeftion of this. Thofe
plants, the feed-receptacles of which are fufficiently fecure, never ileep : a plant
after fruftification ileeps no more. Thus it clofes only with maternal care, to
proteft the interiour parts of the flower from the feverity of the weather : fo
that in it every thing is calculated as well for fecundation and propagation, as
for growth and nutrition : of another end of aftion it was not fufceptible.
Not fo with animals. To them the genital organs are not made a crown j
they are rather, conformably to the deftination of the creature, fubordinate to
• For the ftrength of thefe parts fee Haller'8 tUmma ^hyßohg.t ' Elements of Phyfiology/
vol. VI, p. 14» 15.
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44 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book III.
the nobler members. A few of the loweft clafs only have them near the head.
The heart and lungs occupy the breaft : the head is appropriated to finer fenfcs :
and in general, throughout the whole frame, the fibrous ftrufture, with it's juicy
floral powers, is fubordinate to the irritable elafticity of the mufcles, and the fuf-
ceptibility of the nervous fyftem. The vital economy of animals evidently fol-
lows the fpirit of their conformation. Voluntary motion, operative aftivity,
perceptions and propenfities, conftitute the chief bufinefs of an animal, in pro-
portion as it*s organization is exalted. In moft kinds the fexual appetite is con-
fined to a fliort period : the others live freer from this propcnfity than many
bafeminded men, who would fain fink into the condition of plants. Thefe men
have naturally the fate of plants : all nobler inclinations, the powers of the
mufcles, the nerves, the will, and the underftanding, arc enfeebled ; they live a
vegetable life, and die a premature vegetable death.
Tliofe animals, that come neareft to plants, remain true to the principle of
formation above laid down, both in the economy of their flxufture, and in the
end of their deftination. Thefe are zoophytes and infeds. The polypus is in
ftrufturc nothing more than a living organized ftem of young polypi : the coral
plant is an organized habitation of it's peculiar aquatic animal : finally the
infeft, which ranks far abov^ thefe, as it lives in a more fubtilc medium, fliows
it's near approach to the deftination of plants, both in it's life and ftrufturc.
It's head is fmall, and deftitute of brain : not having room for a few neceflary
fenfes, it carries them before it in it's feelers. It's breaft is fmall : on which
account it is without lung8, and in many cafes we find in it nothing having the
Icaft analogy to a heart. But then how large and fpacious is the abdomen, with
it's phytomorphic rings ! It is the predominant part of the animal * ; as nu*
trition and abundant multiplication of the fpecies are it's chief purpofes.
In animals of a nobler kind, Nature, as has been faid, places the organs of
generation more deep, as if beginning to be afliamed of them : (he gave to one
part the moft diffimilar funftions, and thus obtained room for nobler parts in
the more fpacious breaft. She caufed even the nerves, that lead to thefe parts,
to fpring from lower branches, far from the head i and withdrew them, with
their mufcles and fibres, for the moft part, from the control of the mind.
The feminal fluids are here elaborated after the manner of vegetable juices,
and the young fruit is nourißied as a plant. Plantlike firft open the powers
of thefe organs and inftindls, when the heart perhaps beats ftill quicker, and the
head thinks more clearly. The growth of the human body» as Martinet has
• Many of thefe creatures refpire through it: in urtery runs through it inftead of a heart:
they transfix one another with it: &c«
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Chap. I.] Plants and Animals compared zvith Man, 45
acutely remarked *, is lefs in the upper than in tlie lower parts": as if man were
a tree, which increafed below in the trunk. In (hort, intricate as the ftrufturc
of our bodies is, ftill it is evident, that the pails, which ferve merely for the
nutrition and propagation of the animal, ought to be, and may be, even with
refpe<ft to their organization, by no means the predominant partsj that mark
the dcftination of a beaft, not to fay of a man.
Which then has Nature chofen for thefe ? Let us examine their internal
and external ftrufture.
Throughout the whole chain of living creatures it is eftabliftied, that
1 . Animals with one auricle and one ventricle in the heart, as amphibia and
fiöies, have cold blood : that
2. Thofe with one ventricle, without an auricle, have only a white fluid in-
ftead of blood, as infers and worms : but that
3. Animak, the hearts of which have four cavities, have warm blood, as birds
and the mammalia.
It is likewife remarked, that
1. In the firft two clafies lungs are wanting to refpiration, and the circula-
tion of the blood : but that
2. Animals with quadrifid hearts have lungs.
It is incredible what great difference in the exaltation of the creature fprings
from thefe fimple diftinftions.
Firft. The formation of a heart, even in it's moft imperfeft ftate, requires
an organized ßrudiure of many internal parts ^ to which no plant can attain. Even
in infefts and worms we already perceive arteries and other fecretory vcffels, and
in fome degree mufcles and nerves ; the place of which we find fupplied in
plants by tubes, and in zoophytes by a fimilar ftrudture. In the more pcrfedt
creatures there is a fuperiour elaboration of the juices on which thsy live^ at the
fame time promoting the warmth conducive to vitality. Thus rifes the tree of
life from vegetability to the white fluid of exanguious animals, from this to red
blood, and thence to the more perfeft, warmblooded, organized beings. The
higher this warmth rifes, the more complicated we pertreive the internal organi-
zat'ion, and the more extenfive the circuit, from the motion of which alone this
internal warmth could probably originate. One only principle of life feems to
prevail throughout all nature: this the ethereal 01 eleäric fiream^ which in the
tubes of plants, in the arteries and mufcles of animals, and laftly'in the nervous
fyftem, is ftill more and more finely elaborated, till it produces all thofe won-
• Sec Martinet's Ktitichifinus der Natur, ' Catcchifm ot Nature/ vol. I* p. 3161 where the annuü
growth is pointed out by a plate.
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46 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book III.
derful inftinfts and mental faculties, which excite our aftonlftimcnt in men and
beads. The growth of plants is promoted by eledt ricity ; though their vital juices
are much more finely organized, than the eleftric power which difplays itfelf in
the inanimate parts of nature. On beafts, and on man, too, the ekftric fluid
operates ; and not merely on the groffer parts of the machine perhaps, but even
where thefe mod intimately border on the mind. The nerves, animated by an
cffence, the laws of which are almoft above thofe of matter,, as it operates with
a kind of ubiquity, arc yet fufceptiblc of the cleft ric power in the body. Na-
ture, in fliort, beftowed on her living children what (he had bed to bcftow, an
organic fimilitude of her own creative power ^ animating warmth. From inanimate
vegetable life the creature produces by the means of certain organs living fti-
muli; and from the fum of thefe, refined by more cxquifitc duds, the medium
of perception. The refult of ftimuli is impulfe: the refult of perception is
thought : an eternal progrefs of the creative organization imparted to every
living being. With it's organic warmth, not as perceptible externally to our
rude inftruments, the perfeftion of the fpecics increafes; and perhaps too it's
capacity for a more delicate fenfe <Ä well-being, in the allpervading ftream
of which the allwarming, allquickcning, allenjoying mother fech her own
exiftence.
Secondly. The more complicated the internal organization of the creature,
to produce more pure vital warmth, the more we perceive it's capacity for ro«-
reiving and producing living beings. Another branch of the fame great tree of
life through all the races of creatures *.
It is well known, that moft plants fecundate themfclvcs ; and that, where
the organs of generation are feparate, many androgyni and polygamifts are
found amongft them. It Is in like manner obfervable, that in the lower orders
of animals, as zoophytes, fnails, and infcfts, either the animal organs of gene-
ration arc wanting, and the creature feems only to germinate like a plant j or
hermaphrodites, androgyni, and other anomalies occur, which this is not the
place to enumerate. The more complex the oi^nization of the animal is, the
more ftrikingly are the fexes difcriminated. Here Nature could no longer reft
fatisfied with organized gercncs : the formation of a being fo exuberant and
multiform in it's parts would have fucceeded badly, had it been left in the power
of chance to fport with organic forms. Our wife mother therefore feparated
and diidinguifhcd the fexes. Yet flic knew how to frame an organization, by
* Xiet it not be objeded, that polypi, fome ing ofFspiing, in putting forth buds. I fpeak
fnails, and even leaflice produce living crea- here of viviparous animals, that give fuck,
tures ; for in this way plants too produce a liv«
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Cha?. I.] Plants and Animals compared wtth Man, 47
means of which two creatures unite in one, and from their conjunftion a third
is formed, the ftamp of both, at the inftant of the mod intimate organic \ital
warmth*
In this conceived, by this alone is the new being reared. Maternal warmth
furrounds and fafliions it. It's lungs yet breathe not, and it's larger thymus
gland abforbs : even in the human cmbr}'on the right ventricle of the heart
feems yet wanting, and inftead of blood a whiter fluid circulates through it's
veins. Still in proportion as it's internal heat is fanned by the mother's warmth,
it's heart becomes more perfeft, and the blood reddens, and acquires an ener-
getic circulation, though it cannot yet come into contaft with the lungs.
With diftiniSly beating pulfe the creature moves ; and at length comes into
the world perfeftly formed, endued with all the faculties of perception and
voluntary motion, to which a living creature of this kind alone could be orga-
nized. Immediately air, milk, food, nay even pain, and every want, afford him
occafion of abforbing warmth a thoufand ways, and elaborating it, by means
of fibres, mufcles, and nerves, to an eflence, that no inferiour organization could
produce. It augments till thofe years, when his fuperabundant vital warmth
flrivcs to propagate and multiply itfelf ; and thus the circle of organic life
begins again anew.
Thus Nature afted by thofe creatures, to which (he could impart the capa«
city of producing a living offspring. But this all cannot. Cold blooded ani-
mals are incapable of this : the Sun muft lend them afliftance, and ihare with
them the maternal ofEce. It hatches the embryon : a clear proof, that all
organic wamith throughout the creation is the fame, only more and more fub-
tilely elaborated by numerous channels. Even birds, that have warmer blood
than reptiles, are incapable of bringing forth living young, partly perhaps in
confequence of their colder element, partly on account of their way of life and
general deftination. Thefe light animals, intended for flight. Nature has ex-
empted from the burden of carrying their young till they could be born alive,
as (he has from the trouble of fuckling them. When the bird, even in an ugly
intermediate fpecies, treads the earth, it gives fuck : as foon as the aquatic
animal has attained fufHcient organization and warmth of blood, to produce living
young, the labour of fuckling them is impofed on it.
How much has Nature thus contributed to the perfeftion of the fpecies !
The bird, that flies, can only hatch her young : and from this little domcftic
economy what fine indindls arife in both fexes I Nuptial love builds the neft %
maternal teodernefs warms it ^ paternal affedion alfo affids b this, and procures
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48 PHILOSOPHY OFHISTORY. [Book III
food. How eagerly docs the mother bird defend her young ! how chafte is con-
jugal love in thofe fpecies, that are formed for the matrimonial tie !
Among thofe animals that dwell on the earth, this bond, where it can take
place, fliould be ftill ftronger : therefore the mother is to nourifli her liveborn
offspring at her breaft, with the moft delicate part of herfelf. Nothing but a
grofsly organized fwine can devour it's own young : frigid amphibia alone
cntruft their eggs to the land or the morafs. All the fpecies that give fuck
have a tender affeäion for their offspring : the love of the ape is become pro-
verbial, and perhaps no other fpecies is in this point inferiour to it. Even aqua-
tic animals participate in this fentiment, and the manatee has been reprefented
even to a fable as a pattern of conjugal and maternal love. Affectionate fuper-
Intendant of the World, with fuch fimple organic ties haft thou knit the mod
neceffary relations, and fineft inftinäs, of thy children ! Owing to a fingle
cavity in the mufcle of the heart, to a fihgle pair of rcfpiring lungs, the crea-
ture lives with ftronger and purer warmth, produces and fuckJes living young,
and is adapted to finer inftinds than that of propagating the fpecies, to do-
meftic economy and affeftion for it's offspring, nay in fome I'pecies to conjugal
love. With the greater warmth of the blood, that ftream of the univcrlkl foul of
the World, lighteft thou the torch, that excites the fineft emotions of thehumaa
heart.
I ihould laftly (peak of the head, as the higheft region of the animal form :
but to this belong other confideiations firft, beüde thofe of it's external figure
and parts»
CHAPTER n.
A Comparifon of the various Powers^ that operate in Animals.
Thz immortal Haller has difcriminated the different powers, that dilplay them,
felves phyfiologically in the animal body, as the elafticity of the fibres, the
irritability of the mufcles, and the fenfibility of the nervous fyftem, with an
accuracy, that will not only remain upon the whole incontrovertible, but pro-
mifes the moft valuable application to the phyfiology of mind, even in other
than human bodies.
I (hall not now examine, whether thcfe three phenomena, different as they
appear, may not arife at bottom from one and the fame power, difplaying itfelf
in one manner in the fibres, in another in the mufcles, and in a third in the
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Chap. IL] A Comparifon of the various Powers ^ that tfperate in Animals. 49
nerves. As every thing in nature is conneded, and thefe three eiTeds are fo
intimately and multifarioufly combined in the living body, we can fcarcely
entertain a doubt of it. EUafticity and irritability border on one another, as
do fibres and mufcles. Since mufcles are but an artfully interwoven ftrufture
of fibres ; irritability is probably nothing more than elafticity infinitely height-
ened and intimately combined, exalting itfelf, in this organic interlacement of
numerous parts, from the inanimate fibrous fenfation to the firfl: ftep of animal
feeling. The fenfibility of the nervous fyftem would then be a higher fpecies
of the fame power, a refult of all thofe organic powers ; fince the circulation
of the blood at large, and all the veffels fubfer>'ient to it, feem contrived to
humectate the brain, as the root of the nerves, with that fubtile fluid, which,
confidered as the medium of perception, is fo much exalted above the faculties
of the fibres^and mufcles.
Be this as it may, infinite is the wifdom of the creator, which combined thefe
powers with the different organic parts of the animal body, and rendered the
lower ftep by ftep fubfervient to the higher. Fibres conftitute the founda-
tion of every part even of our fabric. By thefe man grows. The lymphatic and
chyliferous veflTels prepare juices for the whole machine. The mufcular powers
move the mufcles, not merely to external exertion, but one mufcle, the heart,
is the firft propeller of the blood, a fluid compofed of many other fluids, which
not only warms the whole body, but afcends to the head, and there ftill farther
elaborated animates the nerves. Like a celeftial plant, thefe fpread downwards,
from their root placed aloft : and how do they fpread ? how delicate are they ? to
what parts are they allied ? with what degree of irritability is this or that mufcle
endued ? what juices do the plantlike veflcls prepare ? what temperature pre-
vails through this fyftem, in comparifon with others ? to what fenfes does it
pertain ? to what kind of life does it conduce ? in what frame, in what figure,
is it organized ?
If the accurate inveftigation of thefe queftions in particular animals, efpe-
cially thoie which approach neareft to man, do not give us an iniight into their
charaäers and inflinfts, into the relations of the fpecies to each other, and
above all into the caufes of the fuperiority of man over beafts; I know not
whence we can derive phyfical information* And happily a Camper, a Wrif-
berg, a Wolf, a Scemmering, and many other inquifitive anatomifts, purfue this
judicious phyfiological mode of comparing various fpecies, with refpedl to the
power of their vital organs*
I fliall now proceed to a few leading fundamental propofttions fuitable to
my purpofe, which may ferve to introduce the fubfequent refleftions on the
inherent orgaoic powers of varipus beings, and finally of man : for without
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go PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book OT.
thefe any view of human nature, in it's wants and pcrfcftions, muft be very
fuperficial.
1. Wherever an effe5l exißs in nature^ there muß be an operating power : where
irritability difplays itfelfin effort^ orinfpafin^ afiimulus muß be felt from within. If
thefe propofitions be not valid» there is an end to all connexion in our remarks,
to all analogy in nature.
2. No man can draw a line difcriminating where an apparent aSfion fliaUbe a
proof of an inherent power ^ and where it ßall ceafe to be fo. We afcribe feeling
and thought to the animals that live with us, becaufe we fee their daily prac-
tices before us , but we cannot deny them to others, becaufe we are not inti-
mately enough acquainted wich them, or think their performances too artful ;
for our ignorance, or want of art, is no abfolute ftandard of all the mechanical
ideas and feelings of the animate creation.
3. Thus, where art is praElifed^ a mechanical fettfe exißs and is exercifed: and
where a creature ihows by it's adions, that it forefees natural occurrences, inaf-
much as it endeavours to provide for them; it muft have an internal fenfe, an
organ, a medium of this forefight ; whether it be comprehenfible to us ot not,
for the powers of nature are not changed on tliis account.
4. I'here may be many mediums in the creation^ of which we have not the leaß
knowledge^ becaufe we have no organ adapted to them : nay there mufl be many,
for we fee in almoft every creature actions, which we cannot explain fiom our
organization.
5. That creation is infinitely greater, in which millions of creatures, of dif-
ferent fenfes and inftindts, enjoy each it's own world, purfue each it's own train;
than a wildemefs, to be perceived by inattentive man alone with his five
dull fenfes.
6. He who has any feeling of the grandeur and power of Nature, abounding
in fenfation, art, and vitality, will thankfully receive what his organization im-
parts ; but he will not on this account deny to her very face the fpirit of all
her other works. The whole creation is to be throughout enjoyed, felt, and
afted upon : on every new point, therefore, muft be creatures to enjoy it, or-
gans to perceive it, powers to aft fuitably to it. What have the crocodile and
the humming-bird, the condor and the pipa in common ? yet each is fuitably
organized, to live and move in it's element. No point of creation is without
enjoyment, without organ, without inhabitant.: every creature, the,\jore, Itas it's
own, a nezv world.
Infinity envelopes me. Nature, when, furrounded with a thoufand proofs
of this, and penetrated with thefe feelings, I enter thy facred fane. No crea-
ture haft thou neglefted : to every one thou haft imparted thylclf as fully, as
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Chap. II.] A Cwnparifin of the various Powersy thai operate in Animals. 5 1
it's organisation would admit. Each of thy works thou madeft one, and per*
feft, and like only to itfclf. Thy mode of operating is from within to with-
out ; and where it was neceflary thou (houldft deny, thou hafl compenfated as
the mother of all things could compenfate.
Let us now caft a glance on the relative balance of the various ading powers
in different kinds of organization ; thus we (hall clear our way to the phyfio-
logical place of man.
1. Plants exift to vegetate, and bring forth fruit : a fubordinate end, as it
appears to us ; yet, in the whole creation, the bafis of every other. This they
completely fulfil ; and labour at it fo much the more inceffantly, the lefs it is
divided into other ends. Where they can, they exift, in the whole germe, and
protrude new (hoots and buds : a (ingle branch reprefents the whole tree. Here
then we call to our ailiflance one of the preceding propo(itions, and are jufti-
fied in faying, according to all natural analogy : where effeä is^ there muß be
power y where new life As ^ a prhciple of new life muß exiß; and in every phyto-
morphic creature this muft be found in the grcateft aftivity. The theory of
gcrmes, which has been taken to explain vegetation, explains in reality no-
thing : for the germe is already a form -, and where a form is, there muft be an
organic power, that formed it. No differing knife has deteded all future
germes in the firft created feed : they are not vifible to us, till the plant has
acquired it*s full powers, and all our experience gives us no right to afcribe them
to any thing but the organic power of the plant itfelf, opcratmg on them with
(ilent intenfity. Nature has beftowed on this creature of hcr's all (he could
beftow, and compenfated for the much (lie was forced to deny it, by the in-
tenfity of the fingle power that operates in it. Of what benefit would the fa-
culty of animal motion be to a pkint, wluch cannot ftir from it's place? Why
(hould it be capable of knowing other plants around, fince this knowledge
muft be to it a fource of forrow ? But the air, light, and the juices that nou-
rifli it, it attrafts and enjoys after the manner of plants : and the propen(ity to
grow, to bloom, and to propagate it's fpecies, it excrcifes more truly and
inceffantly than any other creature.
2. The tranfition from plants to the feveral zoophytes hirherto difcovcred
reprefents this flill more clearly. In thefe the organs of nutrition are already
fcparated : they poflcfs an analogous animal fenfe, and voluntary motion : ftill
their principal organic po^vers are nutrition and propagation. The polypus is no
magazine of germes, lying preformed in it, perchance for the cruel knife of the
philofbpher : but as plants thcmfclves are organic life^ fo is it alfo. Like them
it puts forth (hoots, and the biftoury of the anatomift can only excite, can only
ftimulate, this power. As a ftimulated or divided mufcle difplays more power.
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S% PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IIT.
fb a tortured polypus exerts all it can, to repair and rcftorc it's lofs. It puflies
forth limbs till it's powers are exhaufted, and the implements of art have wholly
deftroyed it's nature. In fome parts, in fomc direftions, when the portion is
too fmall, when it's powers are too languid, it can do this no more : which
would not be the cafe, if a preformed gcrme lay ready in every point. In it
we perceive energetic organic powers operating, as in the (prouting of plants ^
nay ftiil lower, in feeble, obfcure beginnings.
3. Teftaceous ammals arc organic creatures, endued with juft as much life,
as could be colle<fted and oi^ganized in tbeir element, and in their habitations.
We muft call it feeling, becaufe we have no other word : but it is fnail-feeling^
it is fea-feeling, a chaos of the moft obfcure vital powers, developed only in few
members. Obferve their fine feelers, the mufcle that fupplies the place of
optic nerves, the open mouth, the commencement of a puUating heart, and
their wonderful power of reproduftion. The animal renovates head, horns,
jaws, eyes : it not only forms it's artfully conibni&ed (hell, and again wears it
away, but procreates living beings with (imilar fhells : and many of the fpecies
are both male and female at the fame time. Thus in it there is a world of
organic powers^ by means of which the creature is capable of eifeding, in it's
low rank, what no one with more perfe<fk limbs can perform, while in it the
tough plaflic mucus fb much more intimately and inceiTantly works.
4. The infea, fo artful in it's aftions, is equally artful in it's flrufturc : it*s
organic powers are conformable to this, even with refpedfc to particular parts.
Yet it has room for little brain, and extremely fine nerves only : it's mufdes
are fo delicate, that they required to be mailed without with & hard covering.:
and it's organization has no place for the circulation of greater animals. But coo-
iider it's head, it's eyes, it's antenns, it's feet, it's fhield, it's wings ; obferve the
vail burden carried by a chafer, a fly, an ant, or the force exerted by an enraged
wafp ; look at the five thoufand mufcles, which Lyonet has enundeiated in the
caterpillar of the willow moth, while mighty man pofTefTes fcarce four hundred
and fifty ; laftly contemplate the works of art, which with their fenfes and limbs
they undertake; and thence infer an organic plenitude of powen, inherently ope-
rating in each of their parts. Who caa behold the trembling avulfed leg of a
fpider, or a fly, without perceiving the force of vital irritability it retains, even
when feparated from it's trunk ? The head of the animal was too fmall, to con-
tain it all ; abundant Nature has diftributed it therefore throughout all it's
limbs, even to the minutefl. It's antennse are fenfes : it's flender legs are muf-
cles and arms: each nervous plexus is a fmaller brain; each irritable vefl!el,
almoil a pulfating heart : and thus the delicate operations are accompliihed»
for which many of thefe fpecies art wholly contrived, and to which their orga-
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Ch A ?. IL] A Comparifon of the various Powers^ thai operate in Animals, 53
nization and neceffities impel them. What exquißte elafticity has the thread
of a fpider, or a filkworm ! and this the artift drew from herfelf ; an evident
proof, that (he is all elafticity and irritability, and even in her inftinfts and
operations a real artift, a miniature foul of the world afting in this oi^gani«
zation.
5. In coldblooded animals the fame excefs of irritability is vifible. The
tortoife moves a long time, and forcibly, after it has loft it's head : the teeth
of a viper inflidt a mortal wound, three, eight, nay twelve days, after the head
has been feparated from the body. If the jaws of a dead crocodile be pulled
afunder, they are capable of biting off the incautious finger: and among in«
leds the fling of a bee attempts to wound after it is pulled out. Obferve the
finog in copulation > it's limbs may be torn off, before it will relinquifh it's pur-
pofe. Behold the tortured falamander : fingers, hand^ feet, legs can he lofe,
and renew them again. So great and aUfufficient are organic vital powers in
thefe coldblooded animals : and in fliort, the more cmde an animal is, that is,
the lefs the organic faculty has exalted it's irritability and mufcles to finer
nervous power, and fubjedted them to the fway of an ampler brain, the more do
thefe difplay themfelves in an extended, life fupporting or repairing, organic om»
nipatence,
6. Even in warmblooded animals it has been obferved, that their Hefh
moves more dully in connexion with the nerves, and their intcftines are more
forcibly affeÄed by ftimuli when the animal is dead. In death the convulfion»
grow flronger in proportion as perceptivity diminifhes; and a mufcle, that has
loft it's irritability, regains it, if it be cut in pieces. Thus the more a creature
is rich in nerves, the more it feems to lofe of the delicate vital power, that
with difficulty dies. Tlie power of reproducing parts, not to mention fuch
complex members as the head, the hands, or the feet, is loft in the more per-
fca animals as they are called : at certain ages fcarcely can they reftore a tooth»
or htd a wound or a fradure. But then the fenfations and perceptions of this
clafs are remarkably exalted, till at length in man they are concentrated into
rcafon, the fineft and higheft degree of terreftrial organization.
Might we colleft a few refults from thefe induftions, which ftill it would
not be improper perhaps to reduce to one, it would be the following :
I. In every living creature the circle of organic powers feems to be whole
and complete J on*y differently modified and difbibuted in each. In this it
conr.es near vegetation^ and is therefore fo powerful in reproducing it's fpecies«
and reftorii^ it's parts : in that thefe faculties decreafe, in proportion as they
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5+ PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookHL
are diftributed among more artfully conftrufted members, and finer oiigans
«nd fenfes.
z. Beyond the fphere of vegetation the fyftem of vital irritability com-
mences. It is clofely allied to the faculty of the growing» fprouting, felf-
renewing« animal fibrous fhii£ture : only it appears in an artful condenfedform»
and to a more limited determinate end of vital operation. Every mufcle
already fbinds in reciprocal relation to many others: it will therefore dif-
play not the powers of fibre alone, but it's own ; living irritability in efTeftive
motion« The torpedo renews not it's limbs like the lizard, the frog, or the
polypus: and thofe animals, which polTefs the reproduftive faculty, renew
not the parts in which mufcular powers are condenfed, Hke thofe which are
as it were but fprouts : the lobfter can pufli out new claws, but not a new
tail. Thus in artfully combined motive powers the fphere of vegetative
organization gradually vanifhes ; or rather it is retained in a more elabo-
rate form, and wholly applied to the purpofes of a more complicated orga-
nization.
3. The farther the mufcular powers enter the fphere of the nerves, the more
are they imprifoned in this organization, and fubdued to the purpofes of percept
tion. The more numerous and delicate the nerves of an animal ; the more
multifarioufly they are connedted, artfully ftrengthened, and allied to nobler
parts and fenfes ; and laftly the larger and more delicate the focus of all per-
ception, the brain: the more intelligent and exquifite is the kind of organiza*
tion. On the contrary, in thofe animals, in which irritability overpowers per-
ceptivity, and the mufcular powers the nervous fy flem ; where the latter is em-
ployed on mean funftions and appetites, and particularly where the firfl and
leafl fupportable of all appetites, hunger, is the mofl predominant j the fpecies
is, according to our ftandard, partly lefs perfeft in it's flrudtuie, partly more
grofs in it's manners.
Who would not rejoice, if fome philofophic anatomift * (hould undertake,
to give a comparative phyfiology of feveral animals, particularly of thofe thut
approach neareft to man, examining >yhefe powers, difcriminated and efla-
bliflicd by experiment, in relation to the v/holc organization of the creature }
Nature exhibits to us her works, externally a mafked form, a covered rccep-
• Befidc other known pieces, I find in the animal fkeleton in Chefelden's Ofteography,
woriu of Alexander Monro, the elder, £din. London, 1783, does to be copied, though the
1 781, an Effay on Comparative Anatomy, accuracy and beauty of the original would not
which well deferves a tranflacion; as the fine eafily be equalled in Germany.
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Chap. II.] A Comparifon of the various Powers^ that operate in Animals, 55
tacle of intcriour powers. We fee an animars mode of life : from the phyfiog-
nomy of it's v'iCtge, and the relation of it's parts, we guefs perhaps at fomcthing
of what exifts within. But here within, the organs and mafs of organic powers
are themlelves placed before us ; and the nearer to man, the better means have
we of comparifon. Though I am no anatomift, I will venture to follow the
obfervations of fome anatomifls of celebrity in one or two examples, which will
prepare us for the ftrudture and phyfiological nature of man.
CHAPTER III.
Examples of the phyfiological Struäure of fome Animals.
The elephant *, (hapelefs as he feems, difplays phyfiological grounds enough
of hib fupcriority to all other bcaftö, and refcmblance to man. His brain indeed
is not vcf)' larpre, in proportion to the fize of the animal ; but it's cavities, and
it*s whole firufture, bear a ftriking refemblance to thofe of the human (pecies.
* I was aftouiftied,' fays Camper, * to find fuch a fimllarity between the glan-
dnla pimalisy nates y and tc/ieSy of the brain of this animal, and thofe of our brain;
fince, if a common fenfory can exift, it muft be fought for here.* The cra-
nium is fmall in proportion to the head, as the noftrils extend hx over the
brain, and fill with air the cavities not only of the forehead, but of other
parts -f : for, to move the ponderous jaw, flrong mufcles are requifite, and an
extenfive furface, which our creative parent has filled with air, to fpare the
creature an infupportable burden. The cerebrum does not lie above the cere-
bellum^ and prefs it by it's weight : the membrane, that feparates them, ftands
perpendicular. The numerous nerves of the animal are principally fpent on the
organs of the finer fenfes, and his trunk alone receives as many as the whole
bulk of his vaft body. The mufcles, that move the trunk, arife from the fore-
head : it is altogether without cartilage, the organ of a delicate feeling, an acute
fmeU, and the freeft motion. In it therefore many fenfes are combined, and
afl&fl each other. Thus the expreffive eye of the elephant, which, like no other
animal but man, is provided with hairs and a delicate mufcular motion in the
lower eyelid, has the finer fenfes for it's neighbours j and thefe are feparated
hoxn the tafte, which governs other beafb. The mouth, which in other qua-
drupeds, particularly of the carnivorous kinds, conflitutes the predominant
* From Bafibn» Daabenton, Camper» and in f The cavities and finufes of the prtftjfut
part 2^fflermann'9 defcription of the foetas of mMimiUarit» &c«
an elephant.
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56 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BootUl.
part of the vifage, is here placed deep beneath the prominent forehead, and
high trunk, fo that it is almoft concealed. His tongue is ftill fmaller : the
weapons of defence, which he carries in his mouth, are diftindt from the organs
of nutrition : he is not formed, therefore, for favage voracity. Large as his
bowels muft neceflarily be, his ftomach is fmall and fimple : fo that probably
raging hunger cannot torment him, as it does beafts of prey. Peaceably and
cleanly he crops the herb -, and, as his fenfe of fmell is feparate from his mouth,
he employs in this more time and caution. For the fame caution has Nature
falhioned him in drinking, and in every other fundion of his mafly ftrudhirc,
even to the propagation of his fpecies. No fexual appetite inflames him with
Tage : the female goes nine months with young, like woman, and fuckles her ofF-
fpring at the breaft. The periods of his life, during which he grows, is in vi-
gour, and decays, refemble thofe of man. How nobly has nature converted
his &ngs into long tuiks ! and how delicate muft be bis organ of hearing, that
can underftand human language in fine difcriminations of the tones of com-
mand and of the paflions.! His ears are larger than thofe of any other animal,
thin, and extended on all fides i their apertures iland high ^ and the whole of
the fmall occiput is a cave of echo, filled with air. Thus Nature has wifely
diminifhed the weight of the animal, and united the ftrongeft mufcular force
with the moft refined nervous economy : a king of beafts in fagacious quiet, and
intelligent purity of fenfe.
How different a king of beafts the lion ^ ! Nature has eftabliihed his
throne on mufcular force, not on mildnefs, and fuperiority of intelled. She
has made his bxain fmall ; and his nerves fo weak^ that they are not even pro-
portionate to thofe of a cat : while fhe framed hb mufcles laiige and ftrong^
and fixed them to the bones in fuch pofitions, as to produce the greateft
force, inflcad of diverfity and delicacy of motion. One great mufcle, that lifits
the neck ; a mufcle of the fore-foot, which ferves to grafp j the joint of the
foot cbfe to the claws; tbefe large and curved, fo that their points cannot be
bluntedj as they never touch the earth : fuch were his gifts for the purpofes
of life. His ftomach is long, and much curved : it's friftion, and his hunger,
therefore, muft be fearful. His heart is fmall j but it's cavities are delicate and
broad i much longi^r and broader than in man. The parietes of his heart are
twice as thin, and the aorta twice as fmall; fo that the blood of the lion« as foon
* Chiefly according to Wolfs excellent de« wilh we had anacomico-phyfiologica] dcfcrip-
fcriptioB, in the N»v, Commntar, Acad, 9dent, tions of more aoimali, excctttcd in tht ^mm
Pttrop,, • New Memoirs of the Academy of maoner.
ScieACcjal Petcribur^,' vol. XV, and XVL J
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Chap. III.] Examples of the phyfiological SiruSuve offome Animals. 5 7
as it quits the heart, flows with four times the velocity, and in the arterial
branches of the fifteenth divifion with a hundred times that of the human cir-
culation. The heart of the elephant on the contrary beats flowly ; almoft as
much fo as in coldblooded animals. The gallbladder of the lion too is large,
and the bile blackifh. His broad tongue is rounded forwards, and furniflicd
with prickles, an inch and half long, lying on the forepart, with their points
direded backwards. Hence the danger of his licking the Ikin, which imme-
diately fetches blood, and excites his thirft of it ; his raging thirft, even after the
blood of his friend and benefador. A lion, that has once tafted human blood,
quits not readily this prey, after which his furrowed palate lufts. The lionefs
produces fereral cubs, which grow but flowly : Ihe is obliged therefore to pro-
vide for them during a confiderable period, and her maternal afle<5tion, joined
to her own hunger, augments her ravenoufnefs. As the tongue of the lion
taftes acutely, and his fiery hunger is a kind of thirft : it is natural, that he
fliould liave no appetite for putrid carrion. To kill his own food, to fuck
the warm blood, is his royal tafte: and the aftonifliment of furprife is often
the whole of his royal magnanimity. His fleep is light, becaufe his blood is
warm, and circulates quickly. When fatiated he is cowardly j for he cannot
ufc ftale provifion, therefore he thinks not of it, and is only excited to valour
by prcfent hunger. Benevolent Nature has blunted his fenfes : his eye is
afraid of fire, and cannot even bear the fplendour of the Sun : his fcent is not
acute, the fituation of hb mufcles fitting him only for great fprings, not for
running, and nothing putrid excites him. His covered, wrinkled forehead is
fmall, compared with the inferiour part of his vifage, his ravenous jaws, and
mafticating mufcles. His nofe is large and long ; his neck and forelegs are of
iron: his mane, and the mufcles of his tail, are ample: but his hinder parts
are more feeble and flender. Nature had exhaufted her fearfiil powers, and
made him in difpofition, when not tormented with the thirft of blood, a gentle
and noble beaft. So phyfiological are thus alfo this creature's mind and cha-
rafter.
The floth, in appearance the laft and moft fliapelefs of quadrupeds, a mafs
of mud that has rifen to animal organization, may ferve us for a third exam-
ple. His head is fmall and round : all his limbs too are round, thick, öiapelefs,
and like ftuffed cufliions. His neck is ftiff, as if it were one piece with the
head. The hair of it has a contrary diredlion to that of the back, as if
Nature had formed the animal in two direftions, uncertain which ßie fliould
prefer. At laft flie chofe for the principal parts the belly and pofteriours, to
which, in place, form, and funftions, the wretched head is fubordinate. The
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58 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor ffl,
female carries her young in her pofteriours. The ftomach and bowek fill the
abdomen : the heart, lungs, and liver, are llightly formed : and the gallbladder
fcems wholly wanting. His blood is fo cold as to border on that of amphibia :
his heart and inteftines palpitate long after being torn out : and the legs of the
animal are agitated, after the heart is gone, as though he were in a flumber.
Thus we perceive here the compenfation of Nature, who, where obliged to re-
fufe fufccptible nerves, and even adtive mufcular powers, has more intimately
diffufed and imparted exquifite irritability. This lingular animal therefore may
be lefs unfortunate than he feems. He loves warmth : he loves the quiet of
fleep; and enjoys a flimelike wellbeing in each. When* he wants warmth, he
ileeps : and as if even lying down were painful to him, he faflens himfelf to a
bough with his paws, and feeds himfelf with one of them, while, hanging fiom
it like a bag, he enjoys in the warm funbeams his grublike exiflence. Thus the
mislhapen form of his feet is a benefit to him. From the peculiarity of their
(Irudture the tender animal cannot fupport himfelf on their balls, but only on
the convexity of his claws, on which, as on the wheels of a wa^on, he (hoves
himfelf flowly and commodioufly along. His fix and forty ribs, the like of
which no other quadruped pofleffes, form a long vault for his florehoufe of
provifion, and are, if I may be allowed the expref&on, the offified rings of a
voracious leaf-bag, of a grub.
Of examples enough. It is obvious wherein the ideas of an animal mind and
an animal inftinft are to be placed, if we follow the guidance of phyfiology and
experience, ^hat is t\it fum and refuli of ail the vital powers wori^ing in one or*
ganizedfyfiem : this is the direSlion^ that Nature gave to thofe colleäive powers^ by
placing them in a given temperament and no other^ by organizing them to this and ho
other ßru^:tre.
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f 59 ]
CHAPTER IV.
Of the Inßinäs of Animals.
We have an excellent work on the inftinfts of animals by the late Reimarus*,
which, like his work on natural religion, will remain a lading monument of his
iaquifitive fpirit, and profound love of truth. After learned and methodical
remarks on the various inftindls, which animals poflefs, he endeavours to ex*
plain them from the advantages of the mechanifm, the fenfes, and the internal
feelings, with which they are endued : yet he is of opinion, that we muft admit,
efpecially with regard to the inflinftive arts, particular determinate natural powers^
and natural innate capacities^ which are fufceptible of no farther explication. In
the latter part of his fcntiments I cannot acquiefce : for the compofition of the
whole machine firom certain given powers, fenfes, feelings, and conceptions, in
(hort, the organization of the creature itfelfy conftitutes the mofl fure dire^ion^ the
moßperfeEl determination^ that Nature could imprefs upon her work.
As the creator formed plants, and beftowed on them certain parts, and en-
dued them with certain powers, to attraft and affimilate light, air, and other
fubtile matters, with which they are abundantly fupplied through the medium
of the atmofphere, or of water; and as he has placed them in their proper de-
ments, where each part naturally exerts the powers eflential to it : no new and
blind inftindt to vegetate feems to me neceffary to have been imparted to them.
Each part, with it's living powers, performs it's taik; and thus in the general
appearance becomes vifible the refult of the powers, that could develope them-
felves in a given organization. The aftive powers of Nature are all living, each
in it's kind : they muft poffefs a fomething within, anfwerable to their efFeÄs
without ; as Leibnitz advanced, and as all analogy feems to inform us. That
we have no name for this internal ftate of plants, or the powers ftill operating in
them, is a defedt of our language : for fenfation is ufed only of the internal
ftate, communicated to us by the nervous fyftem. An obfcure analogy how-
ever may exift : and if it do not, a new inftinft, a power of vegetation afcribed
to the whole, teaches us nothing.
• Iteim^rut dlgem, Btträchtungin uhtr di* ' Sketches of Remarks on tlie particular Kinds
Tride dgr IVint* ' Reimaros's General Re- of inftindive Arts in Animals:' to which is ap-
ttarkfl on the Inftindt of Animals.' Hamburg, pended J. A H. Reimarus's copious and elegant
1773. AKo Jngtfangtnt Bitracbtungtn iiher eflay on the nature of zoophytes«
me btßndgrn Artw itr thUrifibn Kunfltriibt,
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6o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IIL
Two natu4'al inftindts are fufEcIeiitly evident in plants, thofe of nutrition and
propagation j and the refults of thefe are works of art, fuch as the performances
of a living infcdl, however ikilful, fcarcely equals : they are the bud and the
flower. When Nature makes a tranfition from a plant, or a ftone, to the ani-
mal kingdom, does flie more clearly unfold to us the inftinfts of organic powers ?
The polypus appears to bloflbm like a plant, yet is an animal. Like an animal
it feeks and digcfts it's food : it pulhes forth flioots, and thefe flioots are living
animals : it renovates itfelf, as far as it enjoys the power of renovation — the
greateft work of art, that any creature performs. What is conftruäed with
more art than the houfe of the fnail ? The cells of the bee muft yield to it : the
web of the caterpillar, of the filkworm, muft give place to this artificial flower.
And by what means has Nature accompliflied this i By internal organic powers,
which, little divided into limbs, lie in a lump, and the convolutions of which,
following for the moft part the progrefs of the Sun, formed this regular figure.
Internal parts afforded the bafis, as the fpider draws her web from her entrails,
and the air could only fupply the harder or grofler parts. This tranfition feems
to me fufficiently to (how, whereon all the inftinfts, even the mechanical ones of
the moft fkilful animal, depend : namely, on organic powers, operating in a given
manner^ according to given limbs. Whether this be effefted with more or lefs
fenfation, depends on the nerves of the creature : but befide thefe, there are
ftftive mufcular powers, and fibres fully imbued with growing and renovating
vegetative lite; which two kinds of powers, independent of the nerves, fuffici-
ently compenfate to the creature what it wants of ncrvca and brain.
Thus Nature herfelf leads us to the inftindlive arts, which we are accuftomed
to attribute more efpecially to certain infefts, for no other reafon but becaufe
their performances are feen by us in miniature, and we compare them with our
own. The more diftindt the organs of a creature, and the more lively and de-
licate it's irritability i the lefs furprifing fhould it be to us, to perceive opera-
tions, of which animals of coarfer ftrudture, and duller irritability of particular
parts, are incapable, whatever other advantages they may poflifs. Even the
fmallnefs and delicacy of the creature conduce to art ; which can be nothing
elfe, but the refult of all it'« fenfations, aAivities, and irritabilities.
Here too examples will fpeak moft forcibly : and the faithful induftry of a
Swammerdam, a Reaumur, a Lyonet, a Roefel, and fome others, have beauti-
fully placed thefe examples before our eyes. When the caterpillar fpins herfelf
round with a web, what does ftie more, than many other creatures perform, when
they caft their fkins ? The fnake puts off* her exuviae, the bird moults her fea-
thers, and many quadrupeds (bed their hair : by thefe means they grow young
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Chap. IV.] Of the Inflin6ls of Animals. 6 1
again, and renovate their powei*s. The caterpillar alfo grows young again, only
in a more difficult, exquifitc, and artful manner : flic ftrips off her briftly cafe,
which takes with it fome of her feet, and by a flower or quicker tranfition ap-
pears in a perfeftly new ftate. The firft period of her life, which flie employed
as a caterpillar in the office of nutrition alone, afforded her powers for this : now
mufl they alfo fenrc to propagate the fpecies, and for this her rings are formed,
and her limbs arc produced. Thus, in the organization of this creature, Nature
has only placed her periods of life and inftinfts farther from each other, and left
them organically to prepare for a peculiar transformation — as mvoluntary on the
part of the creature, as that of the fnakc when flic cafls her ikin.
What is the web of the fpider, but thcfpider herfelf elongated^ to obtain her
prey ? As the polypus flretches out his arms to embrace it ; as flic obtained
i&ngs to hold it b&.\ fo for the purpofe of catching her prey flic acquired the
papillae, between which her web is drawn out. Of the juice from which it is
formed fhe has about a fufEcient quantity to fupply her with webs during her
life i and if flic be unfortunate with them, flic mud recur to forcible means, or
die. The power that organized her whole body, and all it's inherent fecultics,
formed her thus organically to the fabrication of this web.
The fame are we taught by the republic of bees. Each of the difTcrent fpe-
cies of thefe is fafliioned to it's particular purpofe: and they afTociate together,
bccaufc neither of the fpecies could exift without the others. The working
bees are organized for the gathering of honey, and the conftruftion of the
cells. The honey they gather, as every animal fceks it's food : and fmce their
mode of life requires it, they colleft it orderly, and lay it up in ftorc. They
conftruift their cells as fo many other animals build their habitations, each in
it's own manner. Being of no fex, they feed the young of the hive, as others
feed their own offspring 5 and kill the drones, as every animal kills another,
that robs him of his provifion, and is a burden to his family. Though all this
cannot be done without fenfe and feeling i yet it is but the fenfe, the feeling,
of a bee ; neither the mere mccbanifm, to which Buffon refers it ; nor the
complicated, mathematical« political reafon, which others afcrrbe to the crea-
ture. It's mind is included in it's organization, and intimately interwoven
with it. Thus it operates conformably to it 5 finely, and with art, but in a
very narrow and confined circle. The beehive is it's world, and the creator
has divided it's occupations into three parts by a threefold organization.
Neither muft we fufTer ourfelves to be mifled by the word promptitude^
while we obferve thefe organic arts in many animals immediately after their
birth. Our promptitude arifes from praftices their's does not. Is their
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6z PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor III.
organization completed ? it's powers muft be in full play. What in the World
has the greatcft promptitude? The falling ftone; the blooming flower. That
fells, this blooms, according to i^s nature. The cryftal Ihoots with more promp-
titude and regularity, than the bee conftructs it's comb, or the fpider her web.
In the ftone it is only a blind organic inftinft, that is infallible : in the infeA
it is organized to the employment of feveral limbs and organs, and thefe may
fail. The healthy, powerful confent of thefe to one end conftitutes prompti-
tude, as foon as the pcrfed creature exifts.
Thus we perceive why tlie higher creatures rife, the more thcu* inccflänt pro-
penfity and infallible promptitude decreafe. The more, namely, the one orga-
nic principle of nature, which we here term plaßicy there impulfiue^ hcxtfenfitive^
there artful^ yet which is at bottom but one and the fame oi^nic power, is
fubdivided into feveral oi^ans and various limbs; and the more it has in each of
thefe a world of it's own, whence confequently it is expofed to particular errours
and obftacles : fo nmch tlie weaker is it's propenfity, fo much the more is it
fubjeft to the command of the will, and therefore of errour. The different
fenfations muft be balanced againft each other, and then reconciled togethef t
hail, then, overpowering inftinft, infallible guide ! The obfcure irritation, that ia
a certain fphere, fecluded from all others, pofleflcs in itfelf a kind of omnifcience
and omnipotence, is now divided into twigs and branches. The teachable creature
muft learn, as he receives from Nature lefs knowledge : he muft exercife his powers,
becaufe he receives lefs power from Nature: but by his progreffivc advancement,
by the refining and divifion of his powers, he has obtained new means of opera-
tion, and more and finer organs, to difcriminate his fenfations, and to choole
that which is beft. What he wants in intenfity of impulfe, is fupplicd by it's
cxtetit and finer compofition : he is capable of more pure felf-fatisfaftion, of a
more free and diverfified ufe of his powers and limbs ; and all, becaufe, if I
may fo exprefs myfelf, his organic mind is more fubtildy and multi&rioufly
diftributed among it's organs.
Let us now confider a few wonderful and wife laws of this gradual improve-
ment of the creature ; how the creator has accuftomed him ftcp by ftep to
a combination of many ideas, or feelings, and to n peculiar free employment (f many
fenfes and limbs.
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[ «3 ]
GHAPTER V,
Advancement of tie Creature to a combination of fever al Ideas y and to a particular
freer ufe of the Senfes and Limbs.
I. An obfcure but powerful propcnfity is aD, that inanimate nature poflefles.
The parts prefs together with internal energies : every creature feeks to acquire
formy and forms itfelf Every thing is yet included in this propenfityj but it
indeftruftibly pervades the whole being. The (malleft part of a cryftal, or of
a fait, is a fait or a cryflal : the plaftic power operates in the minuteft particle^
as in the whole ; indifcerptible from without, indeftruftible from within.
2. Plants divide themfelves into tubes and other parts : in thefe parts their
propenfity begins to modify itfelf after it's own manner, though in the whole it
ftill operates uniformly. Root, ftem, and branches, abforb i but in different
manners, by different conduits, and different fubftances. Thus the propenfity
of the whole modifies itfelf with thefe, but fWl remains in the whole one and
the fame : for propagation is only the eßorefcence of growth^ and both thefe pro-
penfities are infeparable from the nature of the creature.
3. In zoophytes Nature begins imperceptibly to fcparate particular oi]gan$,
with their inherent powers : the organs of nutrition become vifible : the fruit
already loofens itfelf in the womb of the parent, though it continues to be
nouriflied in it as a plant. Many polypi fprout from one flem : Nature has
fixed them to a fpot, and exempted them from locomotion. The fnail has a
broad foot, with which it faflens itfelf to it's houfe. The fenfes of this creature
lie obfcurely and indiflindt together : it's propenfity operates flowly and inti-
mately : the copulation of the fnail continues feveral days. Thus Nature has
exempted this beginning of vital organization as much as the could from di-
vcrfity, and therefore more deeply concealed and firmly bound variety in
an obfcure fimple movement. The tenacious life of the fnail is almofl inde-
flruÄible.
4. As (he afcended higher, (he obferved the fame wife precaution, gradually
to inure the creature to a greater difcrimination of diverfified fenfe and inflinft.
The infedt cannot perform at once all it has to perform : therefore it mufb
change if s form and beings firfl as a caterpillar to fatisfy the propenfity of nutri-
tion, next as a fly that of propagation : it was incapable of both in one form.
One fpecies of bees could not execute every thing requifite to the enjoyment
and propagation of the kind : Nature divided them therefore, and made one to
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64 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book III.
work, another to propagate, and a third to produce young ; all by a flight
change of organization, whence the powers of the creature acquired another
direftion. IJ'hat ßc could not complete in one moclsl^ ß:e effcEled in ihree^ fitted to
each other as fragments of one whole. Thus (he taught the bees their office in
three fpecies, as (lie taught the butterfly, and other infefts, their occupations
in two difllrent forms.
5. In proportion as flie advanced, and thought fit to allow the ufe of fevc-
ral fenfes, and with thefe of will, to accumulate; flie removed unnecej'ary iimhsj
and ftmplified theßruäure within and without. With the fldn of the caterpillar
feet are removed, for which the butterfly will have no occafion : the many feet
of infcdls, their numerous and diverfified eyes, their antennse, and many other
little implements, are wanting in fuperiour creatures. Of thofe the head con-
tains little brain : it lying far lower in the fpinal marrow, and each ganglion of
the nerves confl:ituting a new centre of fenfation. Thus the mind of the little
artift is difperfed throughout it's whole body. The more the creature (hould
increafe in fpontaneity, and the refemblance of intelligence ; the greater, and
better furnilhed with brain, is it's head; and the three principal parts of the
body are more proportionate to each other, which in infedts, worms, and the
like, were totally deftitute of proportion. What great and mighty tails do the
amphibia drag on the ground, while their misfliapen legs ftand unconncfted !
In quadrupeds Nature has exalted her work : the legs are longer, and approach
nearer together. The tail, with it's portion of the vertebrae, (hortens and dimi-
nilhes : it lofes the grofs mufcular force of the crocodile's, and becomes more
pliable and flender; till in more noble animals it is only a hairy fwitch, and at
length, as Nature approaches the eredV. form, it is totally rejedled. The marrow
of it is carried higher up, and expended on nobler parts.
6. While the creative artiil found the prcp§rticn of the quadruped the beft,
wherein this creature learned to exercife certain fenfes and powers in comhinatiouj
and to unite them in one form of thought and fenfation : flie changed the figure of
each fpecies according to it's mode of life and dcftination, and with the fame
parts and limbs produced it's own liarmony of the whole, and therewith it's own
organic mind, dÜFerent from all others. At the fame time flie retained a cer-
tain fmiilitude, and fccmed to purfue one great end. This great end is evi-
dently to approach that organic form, in which the greateft: combination of
clear ideas, and the moft diverfified and free ufe of various fenfes and limbs,
could take place : and this it is, that conftitutes the greater or lefs humanity
of beafl;s. It is no fport of the will : but a refult of the diverfe forms, that
could be no otherwifc combined to that end, to which Nature would combine
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Chap. V.] Combination of Ideas ^ ahd Ufe of the Senfes^ 65
them i namely to an employment of thoughts, fenfcs, powers, and defires, in
this proportion, to fuch an end, and no other.
The parts of every animal are in the mod cxaft proportion to each other,
according to it's place s and I am perfuaded, that all the forms, in which a
living creature can cxift on our Earth, arc exhaufted. The bead goes upon
all fours : for he could not ufe his forefeet as human hands ; but then, by this
going on all fours, his {landing, running, leaping, and the ufe of his animal
fenfes, are rendered moft eafy to him. His head ftill inclines towards the
earth J as from the earth he feeks his food. In moft the fmell is acute; as it
muft awaken or guide their inftindt. Of one the ear is quick, of another the
eye : and thus Nature has chofen, not only in the general ftrufture of quadru-
peds, but in the formation of each particular fpecies, that particular proportion
of powers and fenfes, which could be beft exercifed in fuch an organization.
Conformably to this (lie contracted or elongated the limbs, and increafed or di-
xniniihed the ftrength. Every creature is a numerator to the great denomina-
tor, which is Nature's felf : even man is only a fraftion of the whole, a propor-
tion of powers, which were to form themfelves into one whole, in this and no
other organization, by the common aid of many limbs.
7. Neceflarily, in a terrcftrial organization fo deliberate, no power mußfupprefs
another t no propenfity deßroy another-, and infinitely admirable is the care, that
Nature has employed for this purpofe. Moft animals have their peculiar climate,
which is precifely that, where they can be moft eafily fed and brought up. Had
Nature fafliioned them more indeterminately, with a capacity for fupporting
various dimes \ to what wants and wildnefs would many fpecies have been ex-
pofed, till they had at length become extindl ! We fee this in the moft trad-
able fpecies, which have followed man into every country : each region has
given them a different caft, and the wild dog has become one of the moft fa-
vage beafts of prey, even as he has become wild. The propenfity of propagation
muft have bewildered the creature ftill more, had it been left indeterminate: but
this too the creative parent has fettered. It awakes only at a determinate pe-
riod j when the organic warmth of the animal is at the higheft : and as this is
efiedted by phyfical revolutions of growth, of the feafons, and of the richeft food;
and the good fuperintendant has determined accordingly the time of geftation;
equal care is taken for both young and old. The young comes into the World,
when it can profper in it j or it paffes through the fevere feafon in the ftate of
an egg, till roufed by a more friendly Sun : the old feels the propenfity only when
it counteracts no other. By thb too is regulated the relation of the two fpecies
in the duration and force of this propenfity.
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66 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book HL
The beneficent maternal affeäion, with which Nature has in this way edu-
cated and effeftually habituated every living creature to aftions, thoughts, and
virtues, fuitable to the compafs of it's organization, is above all expreffion. She
preconceived it, as ihe placed thefe powers in a given organization, and neceffi-
tated the creature to fee, to defire, to ad., in this organization, as (he had pre-
conceived it, and gave it wants, powers, and place, within the limits of this or-
ganization.
There exifts no virtue, no propenfity, in the human heart, which has not
fomewherc in the animal world it's fimilitude, to-which the forming mother
has organically habituated the animal. It muft provide for itfelf : it muft
learn to love it's ofTspting : neceffity and the feafons compel it into fociety, if it
be only to have companions in travel. Appetite impels this animal to love ;
neceffity conftrains that to marrij^e, to a fort of republic, to focial order. How-
ever obfcurely all this takes place^ however fhortly much of it endures j (till it
is imprinted in the nature of the animal, and we fee it there ftrongly, we fee it
return ; nay it is irrefiftible, it is indelible By how much the more obicurely
and inwardly all this operates, the fewer thoughts are combined, and the lefs
frequently the impulfe afts ; fo much the ftronger is the propenfity, fo much
the more perfeft it's efFefts. Thus every where occur prototypes of humao
modes of adtion, in which animals are exercifed : and if there be a fin againll
Nature, it is to refolve ftill to confider them as machines, while we behold be-
fore our eyes their fyftem of nerves, their ftrufture refembling ours, their wants
and modes of life the fame.
It is not to be wondered at therefore, that the more a Ipecies refembles man,
the more it's mechanic art decreafes ; for fuch a fpecies ftands already in a prac-
tical circle of more humanlike thoughts. The beaver, which is ftill a water-rat,
builds with art. The fox, the ficldmoufc, and fimilar animals, have their arti-
ficial fubterranean ft^dures. The dog, the horfe, the camel, the elephant, want
not thefe little arts : they have thoughts like thofe of man ; impelled by the
plaftic hand of Nature, they exercife themfelves in propcnfities like his.
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[ 67 J
CHAPTER VI.
Organic Difference between Man and Beaßs.
With great untruth has it been faid in praife of the human fpecies, that all
the powers and capacities of every other are found in the higheft perfeftion in
man. Such a commendation is not only without proof, but inconfiftent : for
evidently in fuch a cafe one power would deftroy another, and the creature
would abfolutely have no enjoyment of his exiftence. How could man at one
and the (kme time bloom like the flower, feel like the fpider, build like thc
bce, fuck like the butterfly ; and alfo poflcfs the mufcular ftrength of the lion,
the probofcis of the elephant, and the art of the beaver ? Does he poflefs, nay
does he comprehend, a fingle one of thefe powers, with that intcnfity, with which
the animal enjoys and exercifes it ?
On the other hand, fome have, I will not fay degraded him to the rank of a
beaft, but altogether divefted him of the charadler of his kind, and made him
a degqierate animal, that, ftriving after higher perfedlion, has totally loft the
originality of his fpecies. This is palpably contrary to truth, and the evidence
of his natural hiftory : he has obvioufly qualities, which no other animal pof-
fcflcsj and has performed adtions, of which the good and the bad are truly his
oft'n. No beaft devours his fellow from epicurifm : no beaft murders his Uke
m cold blood, at the command of a third. No beaft has language, as man lias ;
and ftill lefs writings, traditions, religion, and arbitrary rights and laws. Finally
no beaft has the form, clothing, habitation, arts, unfettered mode of life, unre-
fiiained propenüties, and fludtuating opinions, which diftinguifli almoft every
individual of mankind. We inquire not whether all this be to the ad*
vantage or detriment of our fpecies ; fufEce it, that of our fpecies it is the
character. As every beaft remains true upon the whole to the qualities of his
kind, and we alone have made a divinity of will, not of neceflity; this diflerence
muft be inveftigated as a fadt, for fuch it inconteftibly is. The other queftions:
how man came by this difference : and whether this difference be original, or
adventitious and acquired : are of another kind, hiftorical merely : and here the
perfectibility or corruptibility, in which no beail^ has hitherto imitated him»
muft have pertained to the diftinguilhing charadteriftics of his fpecies. Laying
afide all metapdiyfics, we confine ourfelves to phyfiology and experience.
I. The form of man is upright : in this he isßngular upon the earth. For though
the bear has equally a broad foot, and flands credt when he fights : though
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68 PHILOSOPHY OT HISTORY. [BookIIL
the ape and the pigmy fometimes walk or run in an ereft pofture : ftill to the
human fpecies alone is this pofition natural and conftant. The foot of man is
more firm and broad : he has a long great toe, while the ape has but a thumb :
his heel too is on a level with the fole of his foot. All the mufcles afting in
this pofition arc adapted to it. The calf of the leg is enlarged: the pelvis is
drawn backward : the hips are fpread outwards from each other : the fpinc is
lefs curved : the bread is widened : the fhoulders have clavicles : the hands
have fingers endued with the fenfe of feeling : to crown the ftrudture the re-
ceding head is exalted on the mufcles of the neck : man is tty^^towof *, a crea-
ture looking far above and around him.
It muft be granted, however, that this mode of going ereft is not fo effential
to man, that it's oppofite is as impofllble for him as to fly. Not only is the con-
trary feen in children ; but men, who have been brought up among beafts,
have proved it by experience. Eleven or twelve inftances of this kind are
known «f ; and though they have not all been fufficiently obferved and defcribed,
yet fome of them (how clearly, that the gait moft incommodious to man is not
imprafticable to his pliable nature. His head, as well as his abdomen, lies
fomewhat forwards : the body therefore can fall forwards, as the head finks in
fleep. No dead body can (land upright : it is only by the combined exertion
of innumerable adtions, that our artificial mode of (landing and going becomes
poflible.
Thus it may eafily be conceived, that, in acquiring the gait of quadrupeds,
many limbs of the human body muft change their forms, and proportions to
each other; as appears in the inftances of wild men. The irifli boy, dcfcribed
by Tulpius, had a flat forehead, the occiput heightened, a wide bleating throat,
a thick tongue growing almoft up to the palate, and^the pit of the ftomach drawn
greatly inwards ; juft as going on all fours muft occafion. The flemifli maiden,
who walked ereft, and ftill retained fo much of the feminine nature as to bedeck
herfelf with a ftraw apron, had a brown thick, hairy (kin, and long thick hair.
The maiden found at Songi in Champaign had a dark countenance, ftrong fin-
gers, and long nails ; and her thumbs in particular were fo ftrong and elongated,
that (he fwung herfelf with them from tree to tree like a fquirrel. Her quick
pace was not walking, but a flying trip and gliding, in which the motions of the
feet were fcarcely to be diftingui(hed. The tone of her voice was weak and
ilender, her cry piercing and frightful. She had uncommon ftrength and agi-
lity; and was fo difficult to be weaned from her ufual aliment, of raw andbleed-
*Vplooking: the greek name for man, from f 5«« Linn^*s Natural Syftcm« Martini'«
atM, upwards, and ^ivftv^ to look. T. fupplcment to Bafibn, and other places.
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Chap. VI.] Organic Difference between Man and Beaßs. 69
ing flefli, fifti, leaves, and fruit, that (he not only endeavoured to efcape, but fell
into a dangerous illnefs, from which (he could be recovered only by fucking
warm blood, that pervaded her veffels like a ballani. Her teeth fell out, and
her nails dropped off, as flieaccuftomed herfelf toour food : infupportable pains
contrafted her ftomach and bowels, particularly the oefophagus, which became
parched and dried up. Strong proofs, how much the pliable nature of a hu-
man being, even though flie was born and for a time brought up among men,
could habituate itfelf in a few years to the inferiour mode of life of the beafts,
among which flic was placed by fome unfortunate mifchance.
How could I delineate the hateful vifion of what man muft have been, had
he been condemned to the fate of being formed a beftial foetus in the womb of
a quadruped : what powers would thereby have been flrengthcned, what weak-
ened i what muft have been the gait, the education, the way of life, the corporeal
ftnjfturc, of the human beaft ! But away unhallowed and horrible image !
odious nonnature of natural man ! In nature thou doft not exift : my pen
ihall not delineate one of thy features. For
2. The upright poßureofman is natural to him alone : nay it is the organifm of the
whole deßination of the fpecieSy and if s mofi dißinguißing charadler.
No nation upon Earth has been found walking on all fours : the moft la-
vage, however clofely many of them border on brute beafts in their form and
mode of living, walk ereft. Even the men without feeling of Diodorus, with
other fabulous beings of the ancient and middle writers, go upon two legs : and
I cannot comprehend, how the human fpecies, if it had pofTeffed from Nature
the abjed horizontal pofition, could ever have raifed itfelf to a pofture of fo
much art and conftraint. How much trouble has it coft, to habituate the wild
men, who have been found, to our food and manner of living ! yet thefe were
not originally wild, but had become fo only by being a few years among the
brutes. The efkimaux maiden had fome ideas of her former flate, and remains
of the language and inftin6ts of her native country : yet her reafon lay bound
up in brutality ; (he had no remembrance of her journey, or of the whole of her
wild flate. The others were not only deftitute of language, but were in fome
mcafurc for ever loft to human fpeech. And would the human beaft, had
he been ages of ages in this abje<ft ftate, and formed to it by totally different
proportions a quadruped in his mother's womb, have left it of his own accrrd,
and raifed himfelf to an ereft pofture ? From the powers of a beaft, eternally
pulling him back, would he have made himfelf man, and, before he became a
man, invented human fpeech ? Had man been a fourfooted animal, had he
been fo for thoufands of years, affuredly he would have remained fo fUll ; and
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70 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book HI.
iiothiJig but a miracle of new creation could have made him what he now is,
and what alone all hiftory and experience reprefents him to us.
Why then fliould we embrace unproved, nay totally inconfiftent, paradoxes,
when the flrufture of man, the hiftory of his fpecies, and, as 1 conceive, the
whole analogy of terreftrial organization, lead us to (bmething elfe ? No crea-
ture, that we know, has departed from it*s original organization, and accommo-
dated itfelf to another repugnant to it : it can operate only with the powers in-
herent in it's organization, and nature is acquainted with fufficient means, to
chain down every living creature to that ftate, which (he has affigned it. In
man every thing is adapted to the form he now bears : from this every thing in
his hiftory is explicable ; without it nothing is capable of explanation : and fince
all the forms of the animal creation feem to converge to this, as to the exalted
inu^ of divinity, and the moft elaborate and prime beauty of the Earth ; with-
out which, as without the domination of man, our world would be deftitute of
it's fupreme ornament and crown : why (hould we humble in the duft tliis dia-
dem of our deftination, and obftinately (hut our eyes to that central point, in
which all the radii of the circle feem to unite i
When our creative parent had fulfilled her labours, and ezhaufted all the
forms, that were poflSble on our Earth, (he paufed, and furvcyed her works :
and as (he faw, that the Earth ftill wanted it's principal ornament, it's r^nt,
and fecond creator; (he took counfel with herfelf, combined together her forms,
and out of all fa(hioned her chief figure, human beauty. With maternal affec-
tion (he ftretched forth her hand to the laft creature of her art, and faid : *ftanJ
vp on the earth ! Left to thyfelf, thou hadft been a beaft, like unto other
beafts : but through my efpecial aid and love, walk ereä^ and be of bea(k the
god.'
With grateful eyes let us contemplate, in this hallowed ad, the benefit,
through which our race became a human fpecies : with wonder (hall we per-
ceive, what new organifm of powers commenced in the eredt pofition of man-
kind, and how by it alone man was made a man.
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r n J
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER r.
Man is organized to a Capacity of Reafoning.
INTERNALLY and externally the ourang-outang rcfembles man. It's
brain has the form of ours : it has a broad cheft, flat (houlders, a (imilar
vifage, and a fkull of the fame fliape : it's heart, lungs, liver, fpleen, flomach,
and inteftines, are like thofe of man. Tyfon * has pointed out forty-eight
parts, in which it refembles our fpecies more than the ape ; and the adions
related of it, even it's vices* and follies, and probably too it's mcnftruation,
give it a fimilitude to the human fpecies.
Unqucftionably, therefore, in it's intcriour, in the operations of it*s mind,
it muft have fome refemblance to man ; and thofe philofophers, who would
debafe it to the level of the little mechanic animals, feem to me, to want the
mean of comparifon. The beaver builds j but inftinftively : it's whole me-
chanifm is conftrufted for this; but it can do nothing farther; it is incapable
of aflbciating with man, of taking part in his thoughts and paffions. The ape,
on the contrary, has no determinate inftindt : it's mode of thinking ftands clofe
on the brink of reafon, the brink of imitation. It imitates every thing, and
therefore it's brain muft be fitted for a thoufand combinations of fcnfitive ideas,
of which no other brute is capable : for neither the wife elephant, nor the :iiga-
cious dog, is capable of doing what the ape can perform : // would perf eat itjdf.
But this it cannot : the door is (hut againft it : it's brain is mcapable of com-
bining with it's own ideas thofe of others, and making what it imitates as it were
it's own. The female ape, defcribed by Bontius, poflefled a fenfe of modefty,
and covered herfelf with her hand when a ftrangcr entered : (he fighed, wept,
and feemed to perform human adtions. The apes, defcribed by Battel, go out
• Tyfon's Anatomy of a Pygmy compared with that of a Monkey» an Ape, and a Man« Lond.
175'- Pag. 9a— 4»
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72 PHILOSOPHY OP HISTORY. [Book IV.
in companies» arm themfelves with clubs, and hunt the elephants from their
precinAs : they attack the negroes, and fit round their fires ; but they have not
fenfe to keep them up. The ape, which de la Broffe placed at table, ufcd a
knife and fork, and was fufceptible of anger, confidence, and all the human
paffions. The love of the mothers to their children ; their education and ini-
tiation into the arts and tricks of an ape*s life ; the regulations of their common-
wealth on a march ; the puniftiments they inflidl on their malefaAors ; even
their droll artifices and malicioufnefs ; with a numbef of incontcftible traits ;
are fufficient proofs, that they are creatures refembling man intcriourly, as
much as their exteriour indicates. BufTon waftes the ftream of his eloquence
in vain, when he takes occafion from thefe animals, to combat the fimilitudc of
the internal organifm of nature to the external : the fadks, that he himfelf has
colledted, fufEciently refute him; and the uniformity of nature's organifm
within and without, if rightly defined, remains impoflible to be miftaken through
all the forms of animate being.
What then wants the manlike creature, that it is not man ? Is it, perhaps,
language alone ? But men have taken pains to bring up feveral ; and had this
enimal, which imitates every thing, been capable of fpeech, it certainly would
have imitated this firft, and waited for no inflrudtion. Or does it depend
folely on it's organs ? Certainly not : for though it comprehends the meaning
of a man's fpeech, and is for ever gefticulating, yet no ape has acquired the
faculty of converfing pantomimically with it's matter, and difcourfing by gcf-
tures. It muft be owing to fomething elfe, therefore, that the door of human
rcafon is (hut againft the poor creature, leaving it perhaps an obfcurc percep-
tion, that it is fo near, yet cannot enter.
What is this fomething ? It is fingular, that almoft all the difference appearing
on difTedtion Ihould feem to confift in tie parts appropriati to walking. The ape
is fo formed, as to be able to walk ere<ft, and is therein more fimilar to man
than it's brethren : but it is not formed wholly for this, and this diflferencc
feems to deprive it of every thing. Let us follow this glimpfe, and Nature
herfelf will guide us to the path, in which we muft feek the firft grounds of
inan*s fuperiority.
The ourang outang * has long arms, large hands, (hort legs, and large feet
* See Camper's Ktrt Strict wegint dt Ont» Review,' Zugabt, St, 19, 1780; and it is hoped,
Uidin^ van ver/cbiidim Orang Ontuugs, * Short that it» and the eflay on the organs of ipeech in
Account of the Dißtßdoa of fome Oarang Ou- apes in the Tran(aÄions, will be inierted in the
ungs/ Amilerdam« 1 780. I know this account collection of tra^ of this celebrated anatniniftj
only from the copious extrad in the GSttin^i/» Leipfic, 1781.
cAf* giltbrtn dmt»itB» < Gottingen literary
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Crap. I.] Man is organized to a Capacity ofReafoning. 73
with long toes j but the thumb of it's hand, and the great toe of it*s foot, are
fmall : BufFon, and Tyfon before him, on this account termed the ape Ipecies
quadrimanous ; and with thefe fmall members evidently the bafis is wanting,
which enables man to Hand firm. The hind part of it's body is (lender j it's
knee broader than in man, and not fo low i the mufcles that move the knee
arife from the thighbone lower than in man, fo that the animal can never ftand
pcrfeftly upright, but with bent knees, feems as it were learnbg to ftand.
The head of the thigh bone hangs in it's focket without a ligament : the bones
of the pelvis ftand like thofe of quadrupeds : the laft five vertebras of the neck
have long pointed procefles, which prevent the head from being carried back-
wards : thus the creature is not formed to ftand eredt, and fad are the confc-
quences thence enfuing. It's neck is fliort and the clavicles are long, fo
that the head feems ftuck betwixt the (boulders *. Thence it's forepart is en-
larged, it has prominent jaws, and a flat nofe : the eyes ftand near together :
the ball of the eye is fmall, fo that none of the white is feen. The mouth on
the other hand is large, the belly thick, the breaft long, and the back feeble.
The ears projed like thofe of brutes. The orbits of the eyes approach each other :
the head is articulated pofteriourly, as in brutes, not centrically, as in man. The
upper jaw is protruded forwards, and the infertion of a proper intermaxillary
bone cuts ofF the laft mark of refemblance of the human vifage in the ape -f .
Now from this formation of the head, the lower part projefting forward, the
hinder puftied back ; from this collocation of it on the neck j from the whole
appearance of the vertebra of the back fuitable to thefe ; the ape remains ftill
but a brute, however great it's refemblance to man.
To prepare ourfelves for this conclufion, let us confider human countenances
appearing to border on thofe of brutes, however diftantly. What renders them
brutal ? what gives them this bafe, difgraceful alpeft ? The protruding jaws ;
the head puflied back ; in (hort the remoteft refemblance to the quadrupedal
oiganization. The moment the centre of gravity, on which the human fkull
refts it's exalted arch, is changed, the head feems fixed to the fpine, the firame
of the teeth projedts forward, and the nofe aflumes the breadth and flatnefs of the
brute's. Above, the orbits of the eyes approach nearer together : the forehead
recedes backwards, and receives on each fide the fatal deprefiion of the fkull of
the ape. The head terminates in a point above and behind y the cavity of the
* See a front and back view of it's wretched ßg, 2. Yet all apes do not appear to have this u
ignre in Tyfon. inttrmaxilJart in the ikme degree, as Tyfon, in his
t See a delineation of this bone in Binnen, account of the dÜTedUon, plainly iays it was not
bach 4t Gtneris Humani FaneiaU nativa, ' On the found,
nataral Variety of the Hunan Species/ Ta^. I,
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74 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
Ikull is more narrow — and all this becaufc the direftion of the figure, the beau-
tiful free formation of the head for the upright pofture of man, is changed.
Let this point be otherwife difpofed, beautiful and noble will be the whole
form. The forehead will advance forward big with thought, and the ikull fwell
into an arch with calm exalted dignity. The broad brutal nofe will con-
traft, and aflume a higher and more delicate figure : the retreating mouth will
be more beautifully covered, and thus will be formed the lips of man, which are
wanting to the mod cunning of the apes. The chin will fink to round the
fine perpendicular oval : the checks foftly fwell : and the eye look out
from beneath the projefting forehead, as from the facred temple of mind. And
whence all this ? From the formation of the head to the creft pofition : from
it's being internally and externally organized to a perpendicular centre of gra-
vitation *. Let him, who doubts this, furvey the ikuUs of the ape and the man j
and no (hadow of his doubt can remain.
Every external form in Nature is an index of her internal operations : and
thus, great mother of all, we approach the moft lacred of thy fublunary works,
the laboratory of the human underftanding.
» « « ««««•
Men have taken much pains to compare the magnitude of the human brain
with that of the brains of other animals, and for this purpofe have weighed the
brains and the animals againfl- each other. But this mode of weighing and cal-
culating can give no accurate refult for three reafons.
1. Becaufe one member of the comparifon, the mafs of the body, is too inde-
terminate, and bears no certain proportion to the other nicely determined mem-
ber, the brain itfelf. How different the nature of the things, that occafion the
weight of a body ! and how different may be the proportions alfigned them !
The heavy body of the elephant, and even his ponderous head, are lightened by
means of air : and though his brain be not overlaige, he is the wifcft of brutes.
What weighs moft in the body of an animal ? The bones : but to thcfc the
brain is not immediately proportioned.
2. It is unqueftionably of much importance, to what purpofes of the body
the brain is emploj'ed, and to what funftions it lends nerves. If therefore the
bridn and nerves were weighed agsiinft each other, they would give a nicer pro-
portion, though by no means accurate : for the weight of both would indicate
neither the fincnefs of the nerves, nor the purpofes of their courfe.
* I have not yet read Daubenton's eflay on Blumenbach : of courfe I know not how far, or
the fituation of the great ocdpiul foramen in to what condufions, hit thoughts are carried,
man and animalf» in the Memoirs of the Aca- My ideas are taken from the AluIIs of men and
demy of Paris, for 1 764» which I find quoted by animals lying before me«
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Chap. I.] Man is orgamzed to a Capacity ofReafining. 75
3. Thus ultimately all depends on the more fine elahonation^ the more nicely
proportioned ßtuatim of the parts with refpeä to each other ^ and ftill more efpe-
cially, as it (hould feem, on i\it free and fpacious field for combining the impref-
fions and perceptions of all the nerves with the greateft force, with the moft
ng}d truth» with the moft unreftrained play of variation, and uniting them with
enexgy in the unknown divine entity, that we term thought > concerning which
the magnitude of the brain gives us no information.
Still thefe arithmetical calculations * are valuable, and afford us (bme inftruc-
tive and introduftory inferences, though not ultimate conclufions. Some
of thefe I (hall here mention, to (how the afccnding uniformity of Nature's
courie.
1. In the fmaller animals, in which the circulation and organic warmth are
but imperfefl:, we find a (mailer brain and fewer nerves. Nature, as we have
already remarked, has made up to them in an intimate or fine expanded irri-
tability, what (he was obliged to deny them in fenfation : for probably the
elaboratmg organifm of thefe creatures could neither produce nor fupport a
larger brain.
2. In warm blooded animals the mafs of the brain increafes m proportion as
their organization is more elaborate : but here other confiderations fupervene,
which feem more particularly governed by the proportions the nervous and
mufcular powers bear to each other. In bcafts of prey the brain is fmaller : in
thc(c predominate the mufcular powers, to which, and animal irritability, the
nerves are for the moft part fubfervient. In peaceable graminivorous animals
the brain is larger : though even in thefe it feems principally employed in
nerves of fenfe. Birds have much brain : for in their colder element warmer
blood is nece(rary. The circulation, too, is confined within a fmaller fphere in
their bodies, which are generally fmall. In the amorous fparrow the brain fills
the whole head, and is equal in weight to one fifth of the body.
3. In young creatures the brain is larger than in thofe that are full grown :
evidently becaufe it is more foft and tender, and therefore occupies confiderable
fpace, but is not on this account more weighty. In it, too, is the provlfion of
that delicate humedVation for all the vital fundtions, and internal operations,
by which the creature is in it's younger years to acquire capacities, and on
which much is confequently to be expended. With increafing years the brain
* We find a copious collection of thefe in fmtller work on phyfiology ; for we (hall foon
Kaller's greater work on Phyfiology; and it fee, that the fpecific gravity of the brain, which
M much to be wiihed» chat prof. V^riiberg had he has inveftigated, is a nicer fiandard than that
Bade known his namerous experiments, to employed in preceding calcttlationi*
vhkh he refers in his remarkf on Haller's
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76 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
grows more firm and dry : for capacities then arc acquired, and tlic animal,
whether man or brute, is no longer fufceptible of fuch light, agreeable, fugacious
impreffions. In fliort, the magnitude of the brain feems to be a neceflary con*
dition, though not the primary one, of greater capacity and exercife of the un-
derftanding. Of all animals man, as the ancients themfelves knew, has proper*
tionally the largeft brain : yet in this point the ape is not inferiour to him, and
the afs is even fupenour to the horfe.
The finer thinking powers of the creature muft phyfiologically require fbme-
thing more than^his : and according to the fcale of organization, which Nature
has placed before our eyes, what elfc can it be than the flruElwrt of the brain
itfelf, the more perfedt elaboration of it's parts and juices, and it's more apt Jittt^
ation and proportion for the reception of the moft fpiritual perceptions and ideas
in the moft falutary vital warmth ? Let us then turn over the leaves of Nature's
book, and examine the fined fiie ever compofed, the tablet of the brain itfelf:
for as the ends of her organifm are the fenfation, the wellbeing, the happinefs of
a creature, the head muft be the repofitory, in which we may look for her thoughts
with the greateft expedation of fuccefs.
1. In creatures, of which the brain is but juft in it's commencement, it ap-
pears yet very fimple : it is as a bud, or a pair of buds, of the Iprouting fpinal
marrow, and affords nerves only to the moft neceftary fenfes. In birds and
fifhes, the brains of which, according to the remark of Willis, have a fimilar
ftrufture, the number of protuberances increafes to five or upwards, and they
are alfo more diftinft. Finally, in warmblooded animals the cerebrum and ce*
rebellum are evidently difkinguifliable : the lobes of the former, fuitably to the
organization of the animal, fpread from each other, and the particular parts pro-
portionally purfue the fame courfe. Thus Nature, as in the whole formation of
her fpecies, fo in it's fummary and term, the brain, has only one prototype*,
which (he has employed in the meaneft worm and infed, and aknoft impercep-
tibly changed in every fpecies, according to the variety of their external organic
zation ; yet advancing, enlarging, and improving, as fhe changed, till it was ul-
timately perfeded in man. The cerebellum was finifhed fooner than the brain
itfelf; being more clofely allied to the fpinal marrow, nearer to which it ori-
ginates : it is more fimilar, too, in many fpecies, in which the figure of the brain
is flill very different. And this needs not excite o\ir wonder, fince nerves of great
importance to the animal economy rife firom the cerebellum : fo that Nature, ia
fiiQiioning the nobleft powers of thought, could not but take her courfe forwards
from the fpine.
2. The lobes of the cercbnun appear in many refpedts more finifhed in their
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Chap. L] Man is organized to a Capacity of Reafoning. 77
nobler parts. Not only are their convolutions niore deeply and accurately
marked, more numerous and more diverfified, in man, than in any other animal :
not only is the cortical part of the human brain it's fofteft and moft delicate
portion, fo that it may be reduced to a twenty-fifth part of it's original weight
by exficcation : but the treafure, which is covered and interlaced with this cor-
tical part, the medulla, is more diftinft, more determinate, and comparatively
greater, in the nobler animals, efpecially in man, than in all other creatures. In
man the cerebrum far outweighs the cerebellum -, and it's fuperior weight clearly
indicates it's internal fulnefs, and greater elaboration*
3. All the experiments hitherto coUefted by Haller, the moft learned phyfi-
ologift any nation has yet produced, (how how futile it would be to feek the in--
divißbie work of the formation of ideas in fubftance and diftributed among the
material parts of the brain : nay, I am perfuaded, did none of thefe experiments
exifl, the very manner, in which ideas are formed, mud have led to the fame con-
clufion. Why is it, that we name the powers of thought, according to their
different relations, imagination and memory, wit and judgment ? that we dif-
tinguifti the impulfe of defire from mere will, and the power of fenfation from
that of motion ? The leaft calm refledtion tells us, that thefe i&culties are not
locally feparated, as if judgment refided in one part of the brain, memory and
imagination in another, the paffions and fendtive powers in a third ; for the
thoi^ht of our fnind is undivided, and each of thefe effefts is the fruit of
thought. It would be in fome meafure abfurd therefore, to attempt to difle<ffc
abfbad relations, as if they were bodies, and to fcatter the mmd, as Medea did
the limbs of her brother. If the material of fenfation, which is quite diftinft
from the nervous fluid, if fuch a fluid there be, efcape our obfervation in the
grofleft fenfes ; how much more mufl we be incapable of dctefting the fpiritual
conneftion between all the fenfes and our perceptions, fo as not only to fee and
feel them, but to be able to excite them at will in the difFerent parts of the brain>
as eafily as we could finger the keys of a harpfichord ! Of fuch an expedtation I
sun far from entertaining the remoteft thought.
4. Still farther is it from me, when I contemplate the ftnifture of the brain
and nerves. How difierent here is the economy of Nature, from what our ab-
ftraft pfychology of the fenfes and feculties of the mind would fuppofe ! Who
would infer from metaphyfics, that the nerves originate, divide, and unite, in the
manner in which we perceive they do ? yet thefe are the only parts of the brain,
the organic purpofes of which we know, as their effedts are placed before our
eyes. Nothing remains for us then, but to confider this facred laboratory of
ideas, the internal bram, where the fenfes converge together, as the womb in which
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7« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
the embryon thought is fafliioned invifibly and undivided. If that womb be
found and healthy, and afford the embryon not merely due mental and vital
'warmth, but that amplitude of fpace, that fitnefsof lituation, in which the in-
viiible organic power, that here pervades every thing, can embrace the percep-
tions of the fenfes and of the whole body, and combine them, if I may be al-
lowed the metaphor, in that luminous pointy which approaches fentimenty the
finely organized creature becomes capable of reafon, if aided by external drcum-
ftances of inftrufkion and the developement of ideas. If the reverfe of this take
place ; if the brain be deficient in finer fluids, or effential parts ; if groiler fenfes
occupy it J or if it be thrufl into a confined fituation : what is the confequcncc?
As that fubtile converging radiation of ideas is wanting, the creature remains a
child of the fenfes.
5. The conflrudion of the brains of various animals feems evidently to prove
this : and even from this conflrudion, compared with the external organization
and way of life of the animal, may we perceive why Nature, following generally
one model, could not always reach it, but was necefTitated to vary from it, here
in one way, there in another. Of many animals the chief fenfe is that of fmell :
it is the mofl necefTary to their fupport, and the guide of their inflindt. Ob-
ferve how the note projefts in the vifage of thefe animals : in like manner in
Iheir brains the olfaftory nerves projedt, as if the forepart of the head were
made for them alone. They proceed for^'ards broad, hollow, and pithy, fo that
they appear like continuations of the ventricles of the brain : and in many
fpecies the frontal finufes extend very high, probably to flrengthen the fenfe of
fmell : fo that^ if I may ufe the exprefTion, a greater part of the animal mind is
olfaftory. The optic nerves follow next in order; the fenfe of fight being moft
necefTary to the animal, after that of fmell. Thefe appertain more to the middle
region of the brain, and they fubferve a finer fenfe. The other nerves, which I
will not here enumerate, follow in proportion as the external and internal orga-
nization require a connection of parts \ fo that, for example, the nerves and
mufcles of the occiput fupport and animate the mouth, the chin, and the reft.
Thus they finifh as it were the countenance, and frame the external figure to
fuch a whole, as the internal is rendered by the proportion of the internal powers.
In this comparative view, however, we muft not confine ourfelves to the vifage
alone, but take in the whole body. It is pleafing to go through the different
proportions of different forms, comparing them together, and contemplating the
internal fprlngs, by which Nature has fet each creature in motion. For what
flic was obliged to withhold, fhe has made compenfation : and what fhe was
obliged to render complex, fhe has wifely complicated : that is, fhe has formc^
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Cm A?. I.] Man ts organized to a Capacity of Reafomng* 7 J
the external organization of the creature in harmony with it's general way of
life. Yet ftill flie had her model ever in view, and deviated from it unwillingly j
as a certain analogical perception and underfianding conftituted the great end, to
which flie fought to faftiion all terreflxial organized being. In the moft various
inhabitants of earth, of fea, and of air, this may be (hown in one progreffive
analogy.
6. Thus we come to the fuperiority of man in the ffrufture of his brain. And
on what does this depend ? Evidently on his moreperfeä organization in the whole^
and ultimately on his ere^ pqfture. The brain of every animal is fafhioned after
the (hape of it's head : or the propofition might with more propriety be reverfed»
as Nature works from within to without. To whatever gait, to whatever pro-
portion of parts, to whatever habits^ (he deftined the creature ; for thefe flie com-
pounded, to thefe flie adapted, it's organic powers. According to thefe powers^
and to the proportion in which they operated on each other, the brain was made
large or fniall, narrow or extenfive, light or ponderous, fimple or complicated.
According to this the fenfes of the creature became feeble or powerful, paramount
or fubfervient. The cavities and mufcles of the forepart of the head and of the
occiput fafliioned themfelves, according as the lymph gravitated, in fliort, ac-
cording to the angle of the organic direSfion of the head. Of numerous proofs ia
fupport of this, that might be adduced from various genera and fpecies, I fliaU
mention only two or three. What produces the organic difference between the
head of man and the head of an ape ? The angle of direftion. The ape has
every part of the brain that man pofTeiTes : but it has them thruft backward in
fituation according to the figure of it's fkull, and this becaufe it's head is formed
under a different angle, and it was not defigned to walk erefl:. Hence all the
organic powers operated in a different manner : the head was not fo high, fo
broad, or fo long, as that of man : the inferiour fenfes predominated with the
lower part of the vifage, which was the vifage of a beaft, as it's back-flioved
brain muft ever continue the brain of a brute. Thus, though it has all the parts
of the human brain, it has them in a different fituation, in a different proportion.
Tlie parifian anatomifts found in the apes they diflefted the foreparts fimilar to
thofe of man j but the internal, from the cerebellum, proportionally deeper.
The pmeal gland was conical, with it's point turned toward the hindhead, &c.
Thus there is a manifeft relation between the angle of diredion of the head, and
the mode of walking, figure, and way of life of the animal. The ape diflefted by
Blumenbach * had ftill more of the brute -, being probably of an inferiour
« BluxDCobadi, ät VarittMt. nativ* Gn. htm* p. 32«
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So PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoolcI^^
ipecies, whence arofe it*s larger cerebeUum, and the defedbivenefi of the more
important regions« Thefe differences do not exift in the ourang-outang, the
head of which is lefs bent backward» and the brain not {b much preiTed toward
the hind part, though fufEciently fo when compared with the high» round, and
bold curve of the human brain, the only beautiful apartment for the formation of
rational ideas« Why has not the horfe the rete mirabile as well as other brutes?
Becaufe it's head ftands ereä, and the carotid artery rifes in fome meafure like that
of a man, without having occafion for this contrivance to impede the courfe of
the blood, as in brutes that have depending heads. Accordingly it is a nobler»
fiery, courageous animal, of much warmth, and ileeping little. On the con-
trary, in creatures with heads hangbg down. Nature had many precautions
to take, in thb conftruAion of the brain, even feparating the principal parts by
a bony partition. Thus every thing depends on the direction in which the head
was formed, to adapt it to the organization of the whole frame. I Hiall not
proceed to any other examples, hoping, that inquifitive anatomifb will turn
their attention, particularly in difledling animals that refemble man, to this in-
timate relation of the parts to their fituation with refpeEl to each other^ and to
the direSiion of the head as it forms a part of the whok. Here, I believe, lies the
difference, that produces this or that inftinA, that elaborates a brutal or a hu-
man mind : for every creature is in all it's parts one living cooperating whole.
7. Even what may be termed a good or bad (hape of the hunuui head itfelf
appears determinable from this fimple and general law of it's adaptation to the
ereA pofhire. For as this (hape of the head, this expanfion of the brain into
it's beautiful wide hemifpheres, with it's internal formation to rationality and
freedom, were confiflent only with the ered form j as the proportion and gra-
vitation of the parts themfclves, the degree of warmth they poffefs, and the
marmer in which the blood circulates through them, clearly (how \ no other
than the fupcriour human form could refult from this internal proportion.
Why does the crown of the grecian head incline fo pleafingly forward ? Becaufe
it contains the ampleil ipace for an unconfined bram, and indicates fine found
concavities in the fSrontal bone, fo that it may be confidered as the temple of
ilear and youthfully beautiful thought. The hind head on the contrary b fmall,
that the animal cerebellum might not preponderate So it is with the
other parts of the face : as organs of fenfe they indicate the fineft proportion of
the fenfitive faculties of the brain, and every deviation from this proportion is
an approach to thebrute. 1 am perfuaded, that on the agreement of thefe
parts will be erefted a valuable fcience, to which phyfiognomy proceeding on
conjedture would not eafily attm. The grounds of the external form lie within ;
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Chap. I.] Man is organized to a Capacity of Reafoning. 8 1
for every thing has been fafliioncd by the organic powers operating from within
to without, and Nature has made every being fuch a complete whole, as if (he
had never created any thing elfe.
Look up to Heaven, then, O man ! and tremblingly rejoice at thy vaft fu-
periority, which the creator of the world has conncfted with fuch a fimple
principle, thy upright form. Didft thou walk prone like a brute j were thy
head gluttonoufly formed for the mouth and nofe, and the ftrufture of thy
limbs anfwerable j where would be thy higher powers of mind ? to what would
not the image of the divinity in thee be degraded ? The wretch who rank»
with the brutes has loft it : as his head is mifliapen, his internal faculties are de-
bafed, and the groiTer fenfes drag the creature down to the earth. But the
fafliioning thy limbs to an ereft pofture has given thy head it's beautiful out-
line and poiition, whence the brain, that delicate ethereal germe of Heaven, has
full room to extend itfelf and fend out it's branches. The forehead {wells rich
m thought ; the animal organs recede; it is the form of a man. As the fkull
rifcs higher, the ear is feated lower j it becomes more clofely conneded with
the eye, and the two fenfes have more intimate accefs to the facred apartment
in which ideas are fomied. The cerebellum, the marrow (hooting down the
(pine, and the vital powers of fenfe, which are paramount in the brute, are in a
fubordinate proportion to the brain. The rays of the wonderfully beautiful
corpora ftriata are more diflinft and delicate in man: an indication of the infi-
nitely (iner light concentrated in this region, and beaming from it. Thus, if I
may fpeak (iguratively, is the flower formed, that merely (hoots forth a (prout
in the elongated fpinal marrow, but rounds itfelf forward into a plant full of
ethereal powers, which could be generated only in this afpiring tree.
Farther : the general proportion of the organic powers oY the brute is not
favourable to reafon. In it's organization mufcular ftrength and fenfual irrita*
bility prevail, which are diftributed in each particular frame according to the
end of the creature, and form the predominant inftinft of each fpecies. With
man's ereft figure arifes a tree, the faculties of which are fo proportioned as to
(end the fineft and richeft fluids to the brain, as the flower that crowns the
whole. Every pulfation of the heart fends more than a (ixth part of the
blood contained in the human body to the head alone. The grand ftream
riles upwards, then takes a gentle curve, and divides itfelf gradually, fo that
even the remoteft parts of the head derive warmth and nouri(hment from
it and it's fitter ftreams. Nature has employed all her art to ftrengthen the
ve(rels that convey the ftream, to weaken and moderate the force of the cur-
jent, to retain it long in the brain, and to condud it back gently from the head
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Sz PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
when it has performed it's office. It fpriiigs from trunks, which, being near
the heart, aft with all the force of the primitive movement : and, from the
commencement of life, the whole power of the young heart ads on this, the
nobleft and moft fenfiWe part. The extremities remain yet unformed, while
the head and internal parts are fabricated in the moft delicate manner. Wc
fee with aftonifhment not only the overproportion of thefe, but their fine
ftrufture in the particular fenfes of the embryo, as if the great artifl intended
to create it for the brain alone and the power of internal motion, till at length
(he gradually fupplies the other members alfo, as organs and produdions of the
inner parts. Thus man is faQiioned even in his mother's womb to an ercdt
pofture, and every thing that depends on it. He is not born in the pendu-
lous womb of a brute : a more artful cavity, retting on it's bafis, was prepared
for his formation. There fits the little fleeper, and the blood crowds to his
head, till this head finks by it's own gravity. In (hort, man is what he was dc-
figned to be, and to this end all the parts co-operate ; a rifing tree, crowned,
with the moft beautiful flower, the feat of refined thought.
CHAPTER II.
RarofptHfrom the Organization of the human Head to inferiour Creatures^ the Heads*
of which approach it in Form.
I p wc have advanced thus far in the right path, the fame analc^ in the-
relation the head bears to the general ftrudture mutt prevail in the inferiour
creatures, fince Nature is uniform in her operations : and this analogy does
moft evidently prevail. As the plant labours to put forth that elaborate pro-
duäion the flower, fo in living creatures the whole frame exerts it's powers to
nourilh the head as it's crown. It might be faid, that Nature employs the
whole organization of creatures, according to their rank, to prepare a brain in-
creafing in magnitude and perfeftion, and to procure the creature a lefs con-
fined central point for the coUeftion of it's perceptions and thoughts. The
farther (he advances, the more too flie urges her point : at leaft as much as
may be without rendering the head of the creature too heavy, and injuring the
corporal feculties. Let us examine a few links of this afcending chain of organic
perception, in the external form and direftion of the head.
I. In animals where the head lies horizontally with the body the brain is
leaft elaborated : Nature has diffufed their irritability and inftindts more ge-
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Cha^. IL] lUtrofpeB from the Organization of tie human Head. 85
nerally over the whole. Such are worms and zoophytes, infedts, fi(hes, and
amphibious animals. In the lower links of the organic chain ahead is fcarcely
perceptible : in others it is a projefting point. In infeds it is fmall : in fifhes
the bead and body are united in one: and in amphibious animals the head
as for the moft part horizontal, with a crawling body. In proportion as the
head rifes, and is diftind, the creature is roufed from it*s brutal ftupidity : the
mouth at the fame time recedes, and no longer feems to occupy the whole
power of the forepart of the horizontal frame. If we compare the (hark, tliat
appears all mouth and throat, or the creeping voracious crocodile, with crea-
tures more finely organized, we fliall be led by numerous examples to th» pro-
pofition, that, the nearer the head and body of an animal approach one undivided
horizontal line, the lefs room it has for an exalted brain, and the more are it's pro-
minent gaping jaws the principal part of it's frame.
xHhc more perfeft the animal, the more it rifcs above the furface of the
ground : it's legs are lengthened, the bones of the neck are articulated in a
manner adapted to the general organization, and the head takes a pofition and
diredion fuited to the whole. Here too compare the armadillo and opofTum»
the porcupine, the rat, the glutton, and other inferiour fpecies, with the
nobler animals. In the former the legs are (hort, the head is ftuck between
the flioulders, the jaws arc long and projedt forward : in the latter the gait is
more free, the head lifter, the neck more moveable, the jaws ihorter -, and
lience the brain naturally obtains a higher fituation and ampler fpace. Thus
we may admit the fecond propofition, that, the more the body etuleavours to raife
itf^if^ and the head to mount upwards fieely from the Jkeleton, the moreperfeä is the
zreatur^ s form. This propofition, however, as well as the former, muft be un-
derftood with reference to the general proportion and ftrudure of the animal,
not to particular members.
3. The more the lower part of the vifage diminiflies, or recedes, in the ele*
vatcd head, the nobler it's outline, and the more intelligent it's brow. Com-
pare the wolf and the dog, the cat and the lion, the rhihoceros and the ele-
phant, the horfe and the hippopotamus. On the other band, the broader
and heavier the lower parts of the vifage are, and the greater their inclination
downward, the lefs b the ikull, and the fmaller the forehead. In this reiped not
only do the different fpecies of animals differ, but even animals of the fame
Ipecies in different climates. Confider the white bear of the ardic regions, and
the bear of warmer climes; or the different varieties of dogs, harts, and rocs.
In (hort, the lefs the animal lias of jaws, and the more ofjkull, the nearer it ap^
proaches the rational form. To render this view of the fubjed more clear, let
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84 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
lines be drawn from the laft cervical vertebra of the fkdeton to the fummit
of the fkuU, the fbremoft part of the frontal bone» and the extreme point of the
upper jaw : we (hall then fee the great variety in the feveral angles formed ia
different genera and fpecies, and at the (ame time perceive» that it all originally
proceeds from the more or lefs horizontal pofition of the animal in walking»
and is fubfervient to this.
My remarks here coincide with the acute obfervations Camper has made on
the figures of apes» other animals» and men of different races ; for he draws a
ftraight line from the aperture of the ear to the under part of the nofe» and
another from the utmoft projeftion of the frontal bone to the mod promi-
nent part of the upper jaw *. In this angle he protcffes to difcover not only
the difference between various kinds of animals» but that which diftinguiflies
nations from each others and fuppofes» that Nature has employed this angle
to difcriminate all the varieties of the brute creation» and gradually afcend to
the moft perfeA form of beauty in man. Birds defcribe the fmalleft angle»
and the angle enlarges in proportion as the brute approaches the human form.
The heads of apes reach from 42* to 50* : thofe with the latter angle coming
near to man. The negro and calmuc have 70*» the european 80*» and the
greeks carried their ideal beauty as far as 90* and even loo". Whatever ex-
ceeds this becomes monflrous » and accordingly it is the higheft point» to which
the ancients carried the beauty of their heads. As the juftice of this remark
is flriking» it gives me much pleafure to trace it» as I believe I have done,
to it's phyfical principle -, which is iic tendency of the creature to the horizon-^
tal or perpendicular pofition and form of the heady on which the happy fituatioa
of the brain» and the beauty and proportion of all the features» ultimately de-
pend. If therefore we would render the theory of Camper complete» and at
the fame time difplay it's fundamental principle» we need only take the laft
cervical vertebra as the central point» inflead of the ear, and from it draw lines
to the hindmoft point of the occiput» the highefl of the crown of the head,
the mofl projecting of the forehead, and the moft prominent of the upper
jaw : thus we (hall not only render evident the variety of figure in the head,
but alfo it's principle, that every circumfiance in the form and dire£lion of this pari
depends on the eredl or prone gait of the creature^ and confequently on it's general
habit, fo that, according to a fimple principle of formation, unity may be pro-
duced amid the greateft variety.
• See Prof. Camper*! Works on the Con« »;•&€. [which have been tranflaud into £ng*
nezion between Anatomy and the Aru of Draw- liih by Dr. Cogan«]
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Chap. II.] RetrofpeQ from the Orgamzation of the humnu Head. 85
O that a fecond Galen would reftore in thefe days the book of the ancient
on the parts of the human body, with a particular view of difplaying the per'
fedbion of our form, as adapted to the eredt pollure in all it*s proportions and
movements ! that he would purfue the comparifon of man with the animal«
approaching neareft to him, from the firil moment of his appearance, through
his mental and corporal fun&ions, in the finer proportions of the parts to each
other, and throughout the whole of the branching tree to it's fummit the
brain, and (how by the comparifon, that fuch a brain could be generated in
man alone ! The eredt figure is the moil beautiful and natural for all the plants
on the Earth. As the tree (hoots upward, as the plant flowers at the top,
wc might conjefture, that every nobler creature (hould have this growth, this
pofition, and not crawl like a ikeleton ftretched out upon four props. But in
thefe earlier periods of his debafement the creature muft improve his animal
faculties, and learn to exercife his fenfes and inftindts, before he can attain our
moft free and pcrfedb pofition. This he approaches by degrees. The crawling
worm raifes it's head as much as poiHble from the duft of the ground, and tlie
amphibia creep with bent bodies on the (hore. The proud flag and the noble
horfe (land with uplifted neck, and the inftin&s of the domefticated animal are
deadened : his mind is fed with ideas beyond it^ which it is true he cannot
yet comprehend, but which he takes upon credit, and blindly habituates him-
felf to them. A glimpfe of progreffive Nature in her invifible organic empire
occafions the depreffed body of the brute to raife itfelf : the fpinal tree (hoots
more flraight, and flowers more finely ; the bread is rounded, the haunches
clofed, the neck raifed ; the fenfes are more perfect, and concentrate in a clearer
confcioufnefs, nay even in divine thought. And whence all this, but probably,
when the organic powers are fufficiently exercifed, by the energetic word of
creation, creature arifefrom the earth i
CHAPTER m.
Man is organized for moreperfeß Senfes^ for the exercife of Art ^ and theufeof
Language,
Had man been nearer to the ground, all his fenfes would have been circum«-
fcribed within a narrower circle, and the fuperiour ones depreflfed by the predo-
minancy of thoie of the inferiour order, as the indances of wild men (how.
Smell and tafte, as in the brute, would have been his leading guides. Raifed
above the earth and plants, fmell no longer bears the fway, but fight« This has
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86 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV,
a wider field, and is cxcrcifed from in&ncy in the fineft geometry of lines and
colours. The ear, placed deep beneath the projeoing fkuU, reaches nearer to the
internal receptacle of ideas ; while in the brute it ftands out as it were on the
watch, and in many is as acute in it's faculty as in it's external form.
With the ereft gait man becomes a creature endued with art : for by this,
the firft and moft difficult art that man learns, he is initiated into the praftice
of learning, and becomes as it were a living art. Look at the brute : he has
fingers in fome mcafure like thofe of man 5 but here they are confined in a hoof,
there in a paw, or in fome other form, and fpoiled by fwelliog. Man, by being
formed to walk creft, acquired free and (kilful hands, the inftruments of the
moft delicate operations, and of an inceffant feeling after new and clear ideas.
Helvetius was right in iaying, that the hands are great afllftants to man's reafon:
for how much does the elephant acquire by means of his trunk ! Nay this deli-
cate feeling of the hand is diffufed through the body, and men deprived of their
anns have performed works of art with their toes, which fingers were wanting to
execute. The thumb, the great toe» which are fo particularly fafliioned in
their mufcular ftrudture, though they appear to us contemptible limbs, ane the
moft necefTary helps to us in ftanding, walking, grafping, and all the perform*
ances of the art-exercifing mind.
It has often been (aid, that man was created defencelefs, and that one of his
diftinguifhing chara&eriftics was to be capable of nothing. But this is not true :
he has weapons for defence like all other creatures. Even the ape handles
the club, and defends himfelf with dirt and ftones : he climbs trees, and efcapes
from the fnafce, his wilieft enemy : he uncovers houfes, and can even kill men.
The wild maid of Songi knocked her companion on the head with a club, and
fupplicd by climbing and running what (he wanted in ftrength. Thus man in
a wild ftate is not by the nature of his organization defencelefs : and when ered,
cultivated, what animal has the multifarious implements of art, which he pof-
fe(res in his arms, his hands, the mobility of his body, and all his faculties ?
Art b the moft powerful weapon ; and man is all art, he is altogether one orga-
nized weapon of defence. He wants claws and teeth for attack, indeed ; but
he was defigned to be a mild peaceable creature ; he was not intended to be a
cannibal.
What extenfive capacities lie hidden in each of the human fcn(cs, which necef-
fity, want, difeafe, the defedof fome other fenfe, mon(b'ous conformation, or
accident, occa(ionally difclofe ! thus giving us room to conjeAure, that other
fenfes may be concealed in us, not to be unfolded in this world. If fome blind
men have raifed their fenfe of feeling or hearing, the memory, or the power of
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Chap. III.] Man organized far the Exercife of Art^ ißc. «7
calculation, to a degree that appears febulous to men of ordinary faculties,
undifcovcred worlds of variety and perfeftion may lie afleep in other fenfes, not
yet developed in oiir complex machine. What delicacy of perception has man
already attained in the eye and ear ! and furely this will extend ftill farther in a
fupcriour ftate, fince, as Berkeley obferves, light is the language of divinity,
which our fined fenfe does but continually fpcU in z. thoufand forms and colours.
Melody, which the human ear perceives, and art only developes, is the pureft
mathematics, which the mind obfcurely pradltfes through the inftrumentality
of the fenfes ; as it does the niceft geometry by means of the eye afted upon
by the rays of light. How infinite would be our aftonifhment, if, (landing one
ftep higher, we could clearly view all that we darkly perform in our compli-
cated divine machine with our fenfes and faculties, and in which the brute
üeems preparatorily exercifing himfelf in a manner fuitable to his organization.
Still all thefe implements of art, brain, fenfes, and hands, would have re-
mained inefiedtive even in the upright form, if the creator had not given us a
ipring to fet them all in motion, tlie divine gift offpeech. Speech alone awakens
numbering reafon: or rather, the bare capacity of reafon, that of itfelf would
have remained eternally dead, acquires through fpeech vital power and efiicacy.
By fpeech alone tlie eye and ear, nay the feelings of all the fenfes, are united
in one, and centre in commanding thought, to which the hands and other mem-
bers are only obedient inftruments. The example of thofe who are born deaf
and dumb (hows how far a man without fpeech is from attaining rational ideas
even among other men, and in what a brutal ilate all his propenfities remain.
He imitates whatever his eye fees, whether good or bad : and be imitates it lefs
pcrfedlly than the ape, becaufe he wants the internal criterion of difcrimination,
and even fympathy with his own fpccies. We have more than one inftance ♦
of a per&n born deaf and dumb, who murdered his brother in confequence of
having feen a pig killed, and tore out his bowels with tranquil pleafure, merely
in imitation of what he faw : a dreadful proof how little man's boafted under-
ftanding, and the feelings of the fpecies, can effedt of themfelves. The delicate
organs of fpeech, therefore, muil: be confidered as the rudder of our reafon, and
ipeech as the heavenly fpark, that gradually kindles our thoughts and fenfes to a
flame.
In animals we perceive preparations for fpeech ; and here too Nature afcends
in her operations, ultimately to perfedb thi^art in man. The funftion of breath-
ing requires the whole breaft, with it's bones, ligaments and mufcles, the dia*-
phr£^m, part of the abdomen, the neck, and the (houlders : Nature has con«
* I remember fuch acafe is related in Suck's tian Faith de/ended;' and I recoiled haTing
nterihtUigtemCJoMlen dtr Chrißtn, ' Sack's Cbrif- feen more in other works.
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«8 PHILOSOPHYOFHISTORY. [Boor IV.
ftrufted the whole fpinal column, with it's ligaments and ribs, it's mufdes and
velfeis, for this great work : (he has given the parts of the thorax that degree of
ftability and motion which are requifite to it, and gradually afcended fiom the
inferiour creatures to form more perfcft lungs and tracliea. The newborn ani-
mal greedily inhales the firft breath ; nay is anxious after it» as fomething it
could not expeö. Numberlefs parts are provided for this office ; for almoft all
parts of the body require air for adting with efficacy. Yet, greedy as all crea-
tures are for this divine breath of life, every one is not endowed with voice and
ipeech, which are ultimately produced by thofe fmall inftruments, the bead of
the trachea, a few cartilages and mufcles, and that fimple member the tongue.
This multifarious artift of all divine thoughts and words appears in the (impleft
form; and has not only fet in motion the whole fphere of human ideas, but
efTeded every thing, that man has performed upon Earth, by means of a little
air paffing through a narrow chink. It is infinitely beautiful to obferve the
gradation by which Nature has gradually led her creatures up to found and
voice, from the mute iifii, worm, and infeA. The bird enjoys it's fong, as the
moft artful occupation, and nobleft excellence, beftowed on it by the creator.
The beaft that has a voice recurs to it's aid, when it feels any propenfity, and
is dcfirous to exprefs it's feelings, whether of joy or forrow. It gefticulates little,
and thofe only fpeak by figns, which are comparatively denied an animated
voice. The tongue of fome is fo formed, as even to be capable of pronouncing
human words, the fignification of which they do not underftand : the external
organization, particularly when tutored by man, runs before the mtemal aq)a<^
city. But here the door is fhut, and the manlike ape is vifibly and forcibly
deprived of fpeech by the pouches Nature has placed at the fides of the wind-
pipe*.
Why has the father of human Ipeech done this? Why would he not
permit the all-imitative ape to imitate precifcly this criterion of human kind,
inexorably clofing the way to it by peculiar obftacles. Vifit an hofpital of
lunatics, and attend to their difcourfe; liften to the jabbering of monflers and
idiots 5 and you need not be told the caufe. How painful to us is the utter-
ance of thefe ! How do we lament to hear the gift of language fo profaned by
thofe ! and how much more would it be profaned in the mouth of the gix>&y
lafcivious, brutal ape, could he imitate human words with the half-human un-
derftanding, which I have no doubt he pofTefTes ! difguftbg tiflue of founds
refembling thofe of man combined with the thoughts of an ape — no : the
divine faculty of fpeech was not to be thus debafed, and therefore the ape is
« SeeCamper'tEfläy OB the Orguu of Speech in Apes: Phüofophjcal Tran&ftiooi ibr 1779»
I^rti.
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Ch A p. in.] Man organized ßr tie Exercife of ArU He. 89
dumb ; moftt dumb than his fellow-brutes, each of which, down to the frog
and the lizard, has his own peculiar voice.
But Nature has conftruAed man for the ufe of Umguage : for this he is
framed ereft, and his vaulted breaft is placed on a column. Men, who have been
accidentally brought up among beafts, not only lofe the ufe of fpeech, but in fome
meafure the power of acquiring it ; an evident proof, that their throats are de-
formed, and that h\iman fpeech is confident only with an ereft gait. For
though feveral brutes have oigans of fpeech refembling thofe of men, no one is
capable of that continued ftream of voice, that iälies from the free, exalted,
human breaft, and man's narrow, artfully dofed mouth. Man, on tbe con-
trary, is not only able to imitate all their founds and tones, fo that, as Mon-
boddo fays, he is the moek-iird of terrefhrial creatures ; but a deity has taught
him the art to imprint ideas on tones, depift figure with found, and rule the
Earth by the words of his mouth. His reafon and improvement begin from
ipeech : for by this alone does he govern himfelf alfo, and exercife that reflec-
tion and choice, of which his organization renders him alone capable. There
may, there muft be fuperiour creatures, whofe reafon looks through the eye, a
vifible chamAer being fufficient for them to form and difcriminafe ideas : but
the man of this world is a pupil of the ear, which firft teaches him gradually to
underftand the language of the eye. The difference of things muft firft be
imprinted on his mind by the voice of another; and then he learns to impart
his own thoughts, firft perhaps by gentle and forcible expirations, next by vocal
found and chant. The eaftern nations have an expreflive name for beafts,
which they call tie dumb ones of the Earth : it was in being organized with a
capacity for fpeech, that man received the breath of the divinity, the feed of
reafon and eternal perfeftion, an echo of that creative voice to rule the Earth, in
a word the divine art ofideas^ the mother of all arts.
CHAPTER IV.
Man is organized to finer Inßinßs, and In confejuence to Freedom ofJäion.
Men repeat after one another, that man is void of inftinft, and tliat this is
the diftinguifliing charaAer of the fpecies : but he has every inftind, that any
of the animals around him poflefs ; only, in conformity to his organization,
he has them foftened down to a more delicate proportion.
The infiint in the mother's womb fcems under a neceflity of going through
every flate, that is proper to a terrefbrial creature. He fwims in water: he
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9Ö PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV,
lies prone with open mouth : his jaws are large, before the lips, which are not
formed till late, can cover them : no fooner does he come into the world
than he gafps after air, and fucking is the firft aA he performs untaught. The
whole procefs of digeftion and nutrition, of hunger and thirft, proceeds in-
ftinftively, or by fome ftill more obfcure impulfe. The mufcular and procrea-
tive powers drive in like manner to develope themfelves ; and if fome paffion or
difeafc deprive a man of his reafon, all the animal inftinfts will be obfervable in
him. Danger and neceffity unfold in a man, nay in whole nations, that lead a
iavage life, the capacities, fenfes, and powers of beafts.
Man therefore is not properly deprived of inftinfts ; but they are repreßsd
in him, and msudc fuborciinat a to the dominion of the nerves and finer fenfes«
Without them the creature, who is ftill in great meafure an animal, could not
live.
But how are they repreffed ? how does nature bring them under the dominion
of the nerves ? Let us contemplate their progrefs from infancy j and this will
(liow us what men have often fo fooliftily lamented as human weaknefs in a very
different light.
The young of the human fpecies comes into the world weaker than that of
any other animal : and for an obvious reafon ; becaufe it is formed to receive a
figure that cannot be fafliioned in the womb. The fourfooted beaft acquires
the quadruped figure in the matrix : and though at firft it's head is equally
difproportionate with that of man, it ultimately attains it's due proportions.
Such, indeed, as abound in nerves bring forth their young feeble : yet ftill the
equilibrium of their powers is eflabliftied in a few days or weeks. Man alone
remains a long time weak : for his limbs are yet to be fafliioned to the head, if
I may be allowed the expreffion, which was formed difproportionately laige in
the womb, and fo comes into the world. The other limbs, which require
earthly nutriment, air, and motion, for their growth, are long before they over-
take it ; though during the whole period of childhood and youth they are grow-
ing up to a juft proportion with it, while the head does not grow equally with
them. The feeble child, therefore, is an invalide, as I may fay, in it's fuperiour
powers, and Nature is earlieft improving thefe, and continues inceflantly to im-
prove them. Before the child learns to walk, it learns to fee, to hear, to fed»
and to praftife the delicate mechanifm and geometry of thefe fenfes. It exer-
cifes thefe in the fame inftindive manner as the brute, only in a nicer degree.
Not by innate art and ability : for all the qualities of brutes are the conie-
quence of grofs ßimuli ; and if thefe were predominant from infancy, the nnan
would remain a brute -, being able to do every thing before be learned, he would
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Chap. IV.] Man organized to finer InßinSis^ and Freedom of AElion. px
learn nothing pertaining to man. Either reafon rauft be born with him as an
inftinft, which appears a contradiftion in terms, or he muft come into the world
feeble as he does, that he may learn reafon,
Thk he learns from his infancy j being formed to it, to freedom, and to humaiT
Ipeech, by art, as he is to his artificial mode of walking. The fuckling at the
mother's breaft repofes on her heart : the fruit of her womb is the pupil of her
embrace. His fineft fenfes, the eye and ear, firft awake, and are led forward by
found and figure : happy for him, if they be fortunately led ! His fcnfe of
feeing gradually unfolds itfelf, and attentively watches the eyes of thofe around,
as his ear is attentive to their langus^e, and by their help he learns to diftinguifli
his firft ideas. In the fame manner his hand learns gradually to feel : and then
his limbs firft ftrive after their proper exercife. He is firft a pupil of the two
fineft fenfes : for the artful inftind to be formed in him is reafon^ humanity^ the
mode of life peculiar to man, which no brute poflefles or learns. Domefticated
animals acquire fome things from manj but it is as brutes : they do not become
men.
Hence it appears what human reafon is : a word fo often mifufed in modern
writings to .*nply an innate automaton, in which fenfe it can lead only to
crrour. Theoretically and pra6tically reafon is nothing more than fomething
under/lood; an acquired knowledge of the proportions and direftions of the
ideas and faculties, to which man is formed by his organization and mode of
life. An angelic reafon we know not, any more than we are capable of having
a clear perception of the internal ftate of a creature beneath us : the reafon of
man is human reafon. From his infancy he compares the ideas and impreffions
of his finer fenfes, according to the delicacy and accuracy, with which they per-
ceive them, the number he receives, and the internal promptitude, with which
he learns to bring them together. The one whole hence arifing is his thought ;
and the various combinations of thefe thoughts and perceptions to judge of
what is true or falfe, good or bad, conducive to happinefs or produdlive of mi-
fery, arc his reafon, the progrcflive work of the appearances of human life. This
is not innate in man, but acquired : and according to the impreffions he has
received, the ideas he has formed, and the internal power and energy, with which
he has affimilated thefe various impreffions with his mental faculties, his reafon
is rich or poor, found or difeafed, ftunted or well-grown, as is his body. If
Nature deceived us by falfe perceptions of the fenfes, we muft fuffer ourfelves
to be deceived in her way ; and as many men as pofleffed the fame fenfes would
be deceived in the fame manner. If men deceive us, and we have not organs
or fiiculties to perceive the deception, and reduce the impreffions to a more ac-
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92 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
curate ftandard, our reafon is crippled, and frequently remains fo all our lives.
As man mud lesu-n every thing, it being his inftinft and deftination to leatn all,
even to his mode of walking, he is taught to go only by means of faUs, and fre-
quently attains truth only through the help of errour : the brute on the con-
trary moves fccurely on his four feet, for the more ftrongly imprinted proportions
of his fenfes and impulfes are his guides. Man enjoys the royal prerogative of
feeing far and wide with head ereft : yet it muft be confcfled he fees mucb ob-
fcurely and &lfely, nay often forgets his fteps, and is reminded by (tumbling on
what a narrow bafis refb the whole frame of his ideas and judgments, the off-
fpring of liis head and heart. StiU he remains, conformably to his high rational
dsftinatioHy what no other creature upon Eiurth is, a fon of God, a fovercign of
the World.
In order to be fenfible of the preeminence of this deftination, let us confider
what is included in the great gifts of reafon and liberty^ and how much Nature
hefitated as it were, before (he cntrufted them to fuch a feeble, complicated,
earthly creature as man. Brutes are but (looping (laves j though (bme of the
nobler fpecies carry the head ereft, or at Icaft ftrive after liberty with uplifted
neck. Their minds, not yet ripened into reafon, muft be fubfcrvient to the im-
pulfes of neccffity, and in this fervice arc firft remotely prepared for the proper
ufe of the fenfes and appetites. Man is the firft of the creation left firee : he
ftands ereft. He holds the balance of good and evil, of truth and wifehood :
be can examine, and b to choofe. As Nature has given him two free hands as
inftruments, and an infpedling eye to guide him, (he has given him the power,
not only of placing the weights in the balance, but of being, as I may fay, him-
felf a weight in the fcale. He can glofs over the moft delu(ive errours, and be
voluntarily deceived : he can learn in time to love the chains with which he is
unnaturally fettered, and adorn them with various flowers. As it is with deceived
reafon, fo is it with abufed or (hackled liberty : in moft men it is fuch a pro-
portion of powers and propenfities, as habit or convenience has e(bibli(lied. Maa
feldom looks beyond thefe ; and is capable of becoming worfe than a brute,
when fettered by mean propenfities and execrable habits.
Still in right of his liberty, even when he moft deteftably abufes it, is he a king.
He may ftill choofe, even though he choofes the worft : he is obedient to his owq
commands, even when he direds himfelf by his own will to that which is mo(fc
contemptible. Before the omnifcient, who conferred on him thefe powers,
it is true both his liberty and reafon are limited : and they are happily limited;
for he, who created their fources, muft have known and forefeen every channel,
in which they could flow» and underftood how to give them fuch dirtftions.
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Chap. IV,] Man organized to finer Injin^s, and Freedom o/JSJion. 93
that the dream moft diforderly in it's courfe could never cfcape the reach of his
hand. This, however, makes no alteration in the thing itfelf, or in the nature
of man. He is, and remains, with regard to himfelf, a free creature, though all-
comprehending Goodnefs embraces him even in his follies, and turns thefe both
to his own and the general good. As the bullet (hot from the cannon's mouth
cannot efcape from the atmofphere, and, when it falls, falls by one uniform law of
nature : fo man, in errour and in truth, in rifing and in falling, is dill man ; fee-
ble mdeed, but free-born; if not yet rational, yet capable of fuperiour reafon ; if
not yet formed to humanity, yet endued with the power of attaining it. The
New-Zealand cannibal and a Fenelon, a Newton and the wretched pelheray,
are all creatures of one and the fame fpecies.
It feems, indeed, as if every poffible variety in the ufe of thefe gifts were to be
found upon our Earth ; and there is evidently a progreffive fcale, from the man
who borders on the brute to the pureft genius in human form. At this we ought
not to wonder, as we fee the great gradation of animals below us, and the long
courfe Nature has been obliged to take organically to prepare the little germi-
nating flower of reafon and liberty in us. It appean, that every thing poffi-
ble to be on our Earth was aÄually to exift on it ; and then only (hall we be
able fuflSciently to explain the order and wifdom of this copious plenitude, when,
advanced a ftep farther, we perceive the end for which fuch variety was ordained
to fpring up in the great garden of Nature. Here we fee little more tlian the
laws of neceffity prevail : for the whole earth was to be inhabited, even in it's
remoteft wilderneflTes j and only he, who ftretched it out fo far, knows the rea-
fons, why he left on this his world both pe(herays and new-zcalanders. The
greateft contemner of the human race cannot deny, that the noble plants of
reafon and liberty have produced beautiful fruits, when warmed by the celeftial
beams of the Sun, notwithftanding the many wild branches they have (hot forth
among the children of men. It would be almoft incredible, did not hiftoiy con-
firm it, to what heights human reafon has ventured, endeavouring not merely to
trace out, but alfo to imitate, the creating and fuflaining deity. In the chaos of
beings,, which the fenfes point out to him, he has fought and difcovered unity
and intelligence, order and beauty. The mod fecret powers, with the internal
fprings of which he is unacquainted, he has obferved in their external appear-
ances, and traced motion, number, meafure, life, and being, wherever he has
perceived their effedks, either in Heaven or upon Earth. All his eflTays, even
when erroneous or vi(ionary, are proofs of his majedy, of divine power and ele-
vation. The being, who created all things, has indeed placed a ray of his light, a
ftamp of bis peculiar power, in oor feeble frame ; and low as man is, be can fay to
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94 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
himfelf, * I have fomething in common with God : I poffefs faculties, that the
fupreme, whom I know in his works, muft alfo poffefs : for he has difplayed them
in the things around me/ Apparently thUßmilitude with himfelf 'w^ the fum of
all his works upon Earth. He could produce nothing higher on this theatre ;
but he neglefted not to afcend thus high, and to carry the feries of his organized
beings up to this extreme point. Hence is the progrefs to it fo uniform, through
all the variety of figure that occurs.
In like manner liberty has produced noble fruits in man, and difplayed it's
merits, as well in what it has rejefted, as in what it has purfued. That men
have renounced the unfteady reins of blind appetite, and voluntarily affumed the
bonds of matrimony ^ of focial friendlhip, fuccour, and fidelity, in life and death;
that they have given up their own wills, and chofen to be governed by laws, fo as to
eftablifli and defend with their life's blood the rule of men over men^ though it ftill
remains far from perfcftion ; that nobleminded mortals have facrificed themfclvcs
for their country^ and not only loft their lives in a tumultuous moment, but, what
is far more magnanimous, night and day, for months and years, have thought no*
thing of the uninterrupted labour of a whole life, to confer peace and happinefs,
at leaft in their opinion, on a blind ungrateful multitude ; that divine philofo-
phers have voluntarily fubmitted to (lander and pcrfecution, poverty and want,
from a glorious thirft for promoting truths freedom, and happinefs among the hu-
man fpecics, and cherilhed the idea, that they had conferred on their brethren
the highcft boon of which they were capable j muft furely have arifen from great
human virtue, and the moft powerful exertions oi thzX felf -government, which is
inherent in us ; or I know not to what it is to be afcribed. It is true the num-
ber of thofe, who have thus diftinguilhcd themfelves from the multitude, and
as phyficians falutarily compelled them to what they would not of themfelves
have chofen, has ever been but (mall : yet thefe few have been the flower of the
fpecics, the free immortal fons of God upon Earth. The name of one fuch out-
weighs thofe of millions.
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[ 95 ]
CHAPTER V,
Man is organized to tie moß delicate State of Healthy yet at the fame time to the
longeß Dur ability y and tofpread over the Earth.
Man with his ereft pofture acquired a delicacy, warmth, and ftrength, that no
brute can attain. In the favage ftate he was in great meafure covered with
hair, particularly on the back ; and for the deprivation of this coat the elder
Pliny has loudly complained againft Nature. The benevolent mother of all
has given man a more beautiful covering in his fkin, which, with all it's deli-
cacy, is capable of fupporting the changes of feafon, and the temperature of
every climate, when aided by a fmall portion of art, which to him 'is fecond
nature.
To this art he is led not folely by naked neceffity, but by fomething more lovely
and more appropriate to man. Whatever fome philofophers may aflert, mo-
dcfty is natural to the human fpecies; and indeed fomething bearing an obfcure
analogy to it is fo to a few of the brutes ; for the female ape covers herfelf, and
the elephant retires to fome thick unfrequented wood, to propagate his fpecies.
We know fcarcely any nation upon Earth * fo brutal, that the women do not
feck fome kind of veil, from the period when the paffions begin to awake : at
the fame time the tender fenfibility of the parts in queftion, and other circum-
ftances, require a covering. Even before man fought to protedt his other limbs
againft the fury of the elements, or the ftings of infefts, by clothes or undbions,
a kind of fenfual economy led him to guard the moft vehement and neceflary
of Lis appetites. Among all the nobler animals the female does not offer her-
felf, but will be fought. In this fhe unconfcioufly fulfils the purpofes of Nature :
and in the human fpecies, the delicate woman is the prudent guardian of charm-
ing modefty, which, in confcqucnce of the eredt pofture, cannot fail to be de-
veloped at an early period.
Thus man was led to clothe himfelf : and no fooner had he acquired this
and a few other arts, but he was capable of enduring any climate, and taking
poffeffion of every part of the Earth. Few animals, fcarcely any indeed except
the dog, have been able to follow him into every region : and then how greatly
• We are told but of two completely naked dit the exifteoce of the latter in fuch a re-
nations, and they live in a manner like brutes; gion of the world, notwithflanding it is coa-
the peiherays, at the extreme point of South firmedbyoneof our latell travellers: fee Mack-
America; and a favage people between Arra- intoih's Travels; Vol. 1, p> 341 : London, 1782*
can and Pegu: though I cannot implicidy ere-
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96 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIV.
has the form of thefe been changed ! how much has their native conftitution
been altered 1 Man alone has but little varied» and this in no efiential part. It
is aftonilhing how uniformly he has retained his nature, when we contemplate
the variations, that have taken place in other migrating animals. His delicate
nature is fo fixed, fo perfectly organized, that it ftands on the higheft point,
and he is capable of few varieties, none of which are to be termed anomalies.
Whence comes all this ? From his upright form : and from nothing elfc. Did
we walk on all fours, like the bear and the ape, there is no doubt but the diffe-
rent fpccies of the genus man, if I may be allowed the ignoble cxpreffion, would
have their more limited regions, which they would never quit. The bear man
would love his cold clime, the ape man his warm : even as we now perceive,
that, the more brutal a nation is, the more firmly is it enchained, body and mind,
to it's country and climate.
As Nature exalted man, (he exalted him to rule over the Elarth. His upright
form gave him, with a more finely organized ftrufture, a more elaborate circu*
lation of the blood, a more multifarious mixture of the vital fluids, and that
more intrinßc and fixed temperature of vital warmth^ which alone could enable
him to be an inhabitant of Siberia and of the torrid zone. Nothing but his
ereft, more artificial, organic ftrufture renders him capable of bearing the two
extremes of heat and cold, which no other creature upon earth can undergo,
and which notwithftanding alter him in a very fmall degree.
It muft be confefTed, this delicate flruAure, and all the confequences arifing
from it, have opened the door to a feries of difeafes, with which no brute is
acquainted, and which Moikati * has eloquently enumerated. The blood that
carries on it*s circulation in a perpendicular machine, the heart preffed into an
oblique pofition, and the bowels that perform their funftions in an upright fitu-
ation, muft be expofed to more danger of being deranged, than they are in
the body of a brute. The female fex in particular, it would feem, muft pay
dearer than we for it's greater delicacy Yet the beneficence of Nature com-
penfates and mitigates this in a thoufand ways. Our health, our well-being,
all our perceptions and excitements, are finer and more fpiritual. No^brute en-
joys for a moment the health and happinefs of nun : no one taftes a drop of the
neftarine ftream, that man drinks. Nay, confidered merely with refped to the
body, the difeafes of the brute are fewer, it is true, bccaufe his corporal ftrufture
is more grofs \ but then they are the more obftinate, and the more conftant in
their effefts. I^Iis cellular membrane, the coats of his nerves, his arteries, bones»
* Vsm kmr^rlichiu nntfiKtUcben Vnitrfchitit dil/ Differences between Men and Brutes':
ür Thitrt vnd Mutfchen, « On tJie eifential bo- GottingeD« 1771.
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Chap. V.] Man organized to a State of Healthy DuraliJity^ He. 97
and even brain, are harder than ours : whence all the quadrupeds man fees
around him, the elephant alone perhaps excepted, whofe period of life ap-
proaches his, live a Ihorter time, and die a natural death, the death of indurat-
ing age, much fooner than he. Accordingly Nature has appointed man the
longeft life, and at the fame time the healthieft and happieft, compatible with a
tcrreftrial frame. Nothing can fuccour itfelf more eafily, or in more various
ways, than man's complicated nature: and it is owing to the exceffes of madnefs
and vice, of which indeed no brute is capable, that our frame is fo enfeebled and
deteriorated as it is in many inftances. Nature has benevolently beftowed on
every climate the plants, that heal the difeafes, to which it is fubjeft ; and no-
thing but the confounding of all climates could have converted Europe into
that fink of evils, which no people living according to the didlates of Nature
can experience. Still for thefe felf-acquired evils it has given us a felf-acquired
good, the only one we deferve, phyficians, who affift Nature, when they follow
her fteps, and when they cannot, or dare not follow her, at leaft fend the patient
to reft according to art.
O what maternal care and wifdom of the divine economy determined the
ftages of our lives, and the duration of our exiftence ! All living creatures
here upon Earth, that have foon to attain perfeftion, grow as quickly : they are
early ripe, and foon reach the goal of death. Man, planted upright as a tree of
Heaven, grows ilowly. Like the elephant he remains longeft in the womb : the
years of his youth are many, far more than thofe of any brute. Nature has fpun
out as long as (he could the moft fevourable time for learning, growing, feeling
the happinefs of life, and enjoying it in the moft innocent manner. Many afti-
mals are full grown in a few years, or days j nay even almoft at the inflant they arc
bom : but they are fo much the more imperfedt, and die the earlier. Man muft
longeft learn, becaufe he has moft to acquire : every thing in him depends on
fclf-taught ability, reafon, and art. If his life be afterward fliortened by the in-
numerable multitude of dangers and accidents, to which he is expofed : yet he
has enjoyed a long youth free from care, while with the growth of his body and
mind the world grew around him, while with his flowly rifing, ftill extending
fphere of vifion the circle of his hopes enlarged, and his youthfully noble heart
learned to beat more ardently in eager curiofity, in impatient enthufiafm, for
every thing that is great, and good, and beautiful. The flower of fexual ap-
petite blooms later in a found unirritated man, than in any other animal : for he
is intended to live long, and not diffipate too early the nobleft fluid of his mental
and corporal powers. The infed:, that foon enjoys the pleafurcs of love, dies
ipeedily. All chafte monogamous animals live longer, than thofe that do not
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98 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
enter into the connubial bonds. The luftful cock dies early ; the conftant
ftock-dove may attain the age of fifty years. Marriage, therefore, is ordained
for Nature's favourite here below ; and he (hould fpend his firft years of vigour
as tlie uno})€ncd bud, innocence itfelf. Hence follow long years of manly and
ardent powers, in which his reafon ripens j and tliis, as well as the prolific fa-
culty, continues to flourilh in a green old age unknown to any bmte; till at
length a gentle death fteals on, and releafes the falling duft, as well as the in-
cluded fpirit, from an unfuitable alliance.. Thus Nature has affociated with the
fragile (hell of the human body all the arts, tlut a creature of this Earth can at-
tain : and> even in what Ihortens and enfeebles life, flic has compcnfated the
brevity of enjoyment with it's acutenefs, the deftroying power with intenfity of
fenfation.
CHAPTER VI.
Man is formed for Humanity and Religion.
I w isH I could extend the fignification of the word humanity^ fo as to com-
prife in it every thing 1 have thus far faid on the noble conformation of man to
reafon and liberty, to finer fenfcs and appetites, to the mod delicate yet ftrong
health, to the population and rule of the Earth : for man has not a more dig-
nified word for his deftination, than what expreffes himfclf, in whom the image
of the creator lives imprinted as vifibly as it can be here. We need only deli-
neate his form, to develope his nobleft duties.
All the appetites of a living being may be traced to the fupport offeJfy and to
E participation zvith others : the organic ftrufture of man, if a fuperiour direftion
be added to it, gives to thefc appetites the niccft order. While a right line
poflefles the moft, (lability, man has alfo for his protedlion the fmalleft circum-
ference without, and the moft varied velocity within. He ftands on die
narroweft bafis> and therefore can moft eafily cover liis limbs. His centre of
gravity falls between the fuppleft and ftrongeft haunches, that any creature
upon Earth can boaft ; and no brute difplays in thcfe parts the mobility and
ftrength of man. His flattened, fteely cheft, and the pofition of his arms,
give him the moft extenfivc fphere of defence above, to proteft his heart, and
guard his nobleft vital parts fiom the head to the knee. It is no fable, that men
have encountered lions, and overcome them : the african» when he combines
prudence and addrefs with ftrength, is a match for more than one. It muft be
confefled, however, that man's ftrudure is lefs calculated for attack than de-
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Chap. VI.] Man farmed for Humanity and Religion. 99
fence : in that he needs the affillance of art ; in this he is by nature the moft
powerful creature upon Earth. Thus his very form teaches him to live in peace,
not to addid: himfelf to deeds of blood and rapine : and this conftitutes the
firft chara&eriftic of humanity.
2. Among the appetites, that have reference to others, the defire of propa-
gating the ipedes is the moft powerful : and this in man is fubordinate to the
promotion of humanity. What with fourfooted beafls, even with the modefl
elephant, is copulation, with him, in confequence of his flrufture, is kiffing and
embracing. No brute has human lips, the delicate rim of which is the lafl part
of the face formed in the womb : the beautiful and intelligent clofing of thefe
lips is, as it were, the lafl mark of the finger of love. The modcfl expreffion of
ancient languages, that he knew his wife, is applicable to no brute. Ancient
fables fay, that the two fexes at firfl formed an hermaphrodite, as in flowers,
but were afterwards feparated. This and other expreffive fiftions were intended,
to convey the fecret meaning of the fuperiority of human over brutal love. That
this defire in man is not fubjed to the control of feafons, as in brutes, though no
accurate obfervations on the revolutions in the human body in this refpeft ttave
yet been made, evidently fhows, that it is not dependent on neceflity, but on
the incitement of love, remains under the dominion of reafon, and was de-
(ignedly left to voluntary temperance, like every thing pertaining to man.
Thus love in man was to be Auman -, and with this view Nature appointed, ex-
clufive of his form, the later developement, duration, and ftate of defire, in both
fexes: nay flie brought it under the law of a voluntary facial alliance, and the
mofl friendly communion between two beings, who feel themfelves united in
one for life.
3. As all the tender afFedions, except imparting and receiving love, are fa-
tisfied with participation ; Nature has formed man moft of all living creatures
for participating in the fate of others, having framed him as it were out of all
the reft, and organized him fimilarly to every part of the creation in fuch a de-
gree, that he can feel with each. The ftrufture of his fibres is fo fine, delicate,
and elaftic, his nerves are fo difFufed over every part of his vibrating frame, that,
like an image of the allfentient deity, he can put himfelf almoft in the place of
every creature, and can fhare it's feelings in the degree necefTary to the creature,
and which his own frame will bear without being difordered ; nay even at the
hazard of difordering it. Accordingly our machine, fo far as it is a growing,
fiourifhing tree, fetls even with trees ; and there are men, who cannot bear to
fee a young green tree cut down or deflroyed. We regret it's blighted top : we
lament the withering of a favourite flower. A feeling man views not the writh-
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loo PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book. IV.
ing of a bruifed worm with indifference : and the more pcrfeft a creature is,
the nearer it's organization approaches our own, the more fympathy is excited
in us by it's fufierings. He muft poffefs rigid nerves, who can open a living
creature, and watch it's convulfive movements ; nothing but an infattate thirft
for fame and fcience can gradually deaden his organic fenfibility. More deli-
cate women cannot bear even the diffeftion of a dead body : they feel pain
in each limb, as their eyes follow the courfe of the knife ; and tliis pain is
more acute in proportion to the noblenefs and fenfibility of the part. To
fee the bowels torn out excites difguft and horrour : when the heart is pierced,
the lungs divided, the brain cut to pieces, we feel the keen edge of the inftru«
ment in our own. We fympathize with the corpfe of a dead friend, even in the
grave : we feel the cold pit, which he feels not : and Qiudder when we touch
his bones. The common mother, who has taken all things from herfelf, and
feels with the moft intimate fympathy for all, has thus fympathetically com-
pounded the human frame. It's vibrating fibres, it's fympathifing nerves,
need not the call of Reafon : they run before her, they often difobediently and
forcibly oppofe her. Intercourfe with mad people, for whom we feel, excites
madnefs ; and the fooner, the more we apprehend it.
It is fingular, that the ear Ihould excite and (Irengthen companion fo much
more powerfully than the eye. The figh of a brute, the cry forced from him
by bodily fufferance, bring about him all his fellows, who, as often has been
obferved, ftand mournfully round the fufferer, and would willingly lend him
afSftance. Man, too, at the fight of fuffering, is more apt to be impreflcd with
fear and tremor, than with tender compaffion : but no fooner does the voice of
the fufferer reach him, than the fpell is diffolved, and he haftens to him : he
is pierced to the heart. Is it that the found converts the pifture in the eye into
a living being, and recalls and concentres in one point our recoUeftion of our
own and another's feelings ? Or is there, as -I am inclined to believe, a ftill
deeper organic caufe ? Suffice it, that the fadt is true, and it (hows that found
and language are the principal fources of man's compaffion. We fympathize
lefs with a creature that cannot fighi as it is deftitute of lungs, more imperfeft,
and lefs refembling ourfelves in it's organization. Some, who have been bom
deaf and dumb> have given the moft horrible examples of want of compaffion
and fympathy with men and bcafts ; and inftances enough may be obferved
among favage nations. Yet even among thefe the law of Nature is perceivable.
Fathers, who are compelled by hunger and want to facrifice their children, de-
vote them to death in the womb, before they have beheld their eyes, before
they have heard the found of theic voices ; and many infanticides have confefledi
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Ch a p . vi. J Man formed far Humanity and Religion. loi
that nothing was fo painful to thcin, nothmg took fuch fad hold of their me-
mory, as the firft feeble voice, the fuppliant cry of their child.
4. Beautiful is the chain, by which the allfentient mother connefts the reci-
procal feeling of her children, and faftiions it ftep by ftep. Where the creature
is rude and infenfible, fo as fcarcely to care for itfelf, it is not entrufted with
the care of it's offspring. The feathered inhabitants of the air, hatch and bring
up their young with maternal love : the ftupid oftrich, on the contrary, com-
mits her eggs to the fand. * She forgets,' fays an ancient book, * that a foot
may tread upon them, or ä wild beaft deftroy them : for God has deprived her
of wifdom, and imparted to her no underftanding.' From one and the fame
organic caufe, whence a creature derives more brain, it alfo acquires more warmth,
brings forth or hatches living young, gives fuck, and is fufceptible of parental
afFeftion. The creature, that comes into the world alive, is as it were a plexus
of it's mother's own nerves : the child brought up at it's parent's breaft is a
branch of the mother-plant, which (he nouriflies as a part of herfelf. — On this
moll intimate reciprocal feeling are founded all the tender affeftions in the
economy of the animal, to which Nature could exalt it's {]3ecics.
In the human fpecies maternal love is of a higher kind : a branch of the huma*
nity of the upright form. The fuckling lies beneath his mother's eye on her bofom,
and drinks the foftefl- and moft delicate fluid. It is a brutal cuftom, and even
tending to deform the body, for women to fuckle their children at their backs,
which in fome countries they are compelled to do by neceffity. Parental and
domcftic love foften the greateflfavages : even the lionefs is affeftionate to her
young. The firfl fociety arofe in the paternal habitation, being cemented by
the ties of blood, of confidence, and love. Thus to deftroy the wildnefs of
men, and habituate them to domeftic intercourfe, it was requifite, that the
infancy of the fpecies fliould continue fome years : Nature kept them together
by tender bands, that they might not feparate and forget each other like the
brutes, that foon arrive at maturity. The father becomes the inftruftorof his fon,
as the mother had been of her infant ; and thus a new tie of humanity is formed*
Here lies the ground of a necefTary human fociety^ without which no man could
grow up, and the fpecies could not multiply. Man therefore is born for fo-
ciety: this the afFedlion of his parents tells him^ this, the years of his protraft ed
infancy.
5. But as the fympathy of man is incapable of being unlverfally extended,
and could be but an obfcurc and frequently impotent conduftor to him, a
limited, complex being, in every thing remote ; his guiding mother has fub-
jeftcd it's numerous and lightly interwoven branches to her more unerring
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lOZ
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IV.
ftandard : this is the rule of truth anijuflice^ Mao is formed ereä ; and as
every thing in his figure is fubordinate to the head, as his two eyes fee only
one objeft, his two ears hear but one found ; as Nature in his whole exteriour
ha3 connefted fymmetry with unity, and placed unity in the midft, fothat what
is double always rcfera to it : fo alfo is the great law of juftice and cquipon-
derance the internal rule of man : what ye would not ^ that another Jhould do unto
yoUy do not to another \ and do unto others^ what ye would they fliould do unto you.
This inconteftible rule is written even in the breaft of the favage : for when he
cats the flelh of others, he expeds to be eaten in his turn. It is the rule of
true and felfe, of the idem et idem^ founded on the ftrufture of all our fcnfes,
nay I might fay on man's eredt pofition itfelf. If we faw obliquely, or the light
flruck us in an oblique direction ; we (hould have no idea of a right line. If
our organization were without unity, our thoughts without judgment; our
actions would fluftuate in curves devoid of rule, and human life would be defti-
tute of reafon and defign. The law of tmth and juftice makes fincere brothers
and affociates : nay, when it takes place, it converts even enemies into fiiends.
He, whom I prefs to my bofom, preffes me alfo to his : he, for whom I venture
my life, ventures his for me. Thus the laws of man, of nations, and of animals,
arc founded on fimilarity of fentiment, unity of defign among different perlbns,
and equal truth in an«alliance : for even animals, that live in fociety, obey the
laws of juftice ; and men, who avoid their ties by force or fraud, are the moft
inhuman of all creatures, even if they be the kings and monarchs of the Earth.
No reafon, no humanity, is conceivable without ftridt juftice and truth.
6. The elegant and efeft figure of man forms him to decorum : for this is the
lovely friend and fervant of truth and juftice^ Decorum of body is for it to
ftand as it ought, as God has faOiioned it : true beauty is nothing more than
ilie pleafing form of internal perfedtion and health. Confider the divine image
in man disfigured by negligence and falfc art : the beautiful hair torn off, or
clotted together in a lump j the nofe and ears bored through, and ftrctchcd bjr
a weight j the neck and the other parts of the body deformed in themfelves, or
by the drefs that covers them : who, even if the moft capricious fafliion were
to judge, would difcover here Uie decorum of the ereft human frame ? Juft fo
it is with manners and anions ; juft fo with cuftoms, arts, and language. One
and the fame humanity pervades all thcfe, which few nations upon Earth
have hit, and hundreds have disfigured by barbarifm and falfe art. To trace
this humanity is the genuine philofophy of man, which the fage called down
from Heaven, and which difplays itfelf in focial intercourfc, as in national
policy, in all the arts, as in every fcience.
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Chap. VI.] Man formed for Humamty and Religion. loj
Finally, r^/i^/o« IS the higheft humanity of mankind. Let no one be fur-
prized, that I thus eftimate it. If the uriderflanding be the nobleft endow-
ment of man, it is the bufinefs of the underftanding to trace the connexion
between caufe and effeft, and to divine it where it is not apparent. The human
underftanding does this in every aftion, occupation, and art : for, even where
it follows an eftabliflied procefs, fome underftanding muft previoufly have fettled
the connexion between caufe and effcft, and thus introduced the art. But in
the operations of Nature we properly fee no caufe in it's inmoft fprings : we
know not ourfelves, we perceive not how any thing is efiedied in us. So in all
the effeds aroimd us every thing is but a dream, a conjeAure, a name : yet it
is a true dream, when we frequently and conftantly obferve the fame eflfeft con-
oe6ted with the fame caufe. Tliis is the progrefs of philofophy ; and the firft
and laftjghilofophy. has fver h«en-Teligion. Even the moft favage nations have
pra<Stifed it : for no people upon Earth have been found entirely deflitute of
it, any more than of ä capacity for reafon and the human form, language and
the connubial union, or fome manners and cuftoms proper to man. Where
they faw no vifibk author of events, they fuppofed an invifible one ; and in-
quired after the caufes of things, though with a glimmeruig light. It is true
they attended more to the phenomena than the eflence of nature; and contem-
plated the tremendous and tranfitory, more than the pleafing and permanent :
fb that they feldom advanced fo far as to refer all caufes to one. Still this firft
attempt was religion : and it is abfurd to fay, that fear invented the gods of
moft people Fear, as. fear, invents nothing: it merely roufes the underftanding
to conjefture, and to fuppofe fomething true or falfe. As (bon therefore as man
learned to ufe his underftanding on the flighteft impulfe, that is to fay, as foon ^c^
as he beheld the World in a manner different from a brute, he muft have believed
in more powerful invifible beings, that benefitted or injured him, Thefe be
fought to make or preferve his friends ; and thus religion, true or falfe, right or
erroneous, was introduced» the inftrudor of man, his comforter and guide
through the dark and dangerous mazes of life.
No ! eternal fource of all life, all being, and all form, thou haft not fore-
bom, to manifeflthyfelf to thy creatures. The prone brute obfcurely feels thy
power and goodncfs, while he exercifes his feculties and appetites fuitably to his
organization : to him man is tlie vifible divinity of the Earth. But thou haft
exalted man, fo that, even without his knowing or intending it, he inquires
after the caufes of tilings, divines their connexion, and thus difcovers thee, thou
great bond of all things, being of beings ! Thy inmoft nature he knows not \
ibf he fees not the eflence of any one power : and when he would frgure thee.
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104 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIV.
he has erred, and muft err ; for thou art without figure, though the firft and
Ible caufe of all forms. Still this falfe glimmering of thee is light ; and the
illufive altar he has erefted to thee is an unerring monument, not only of thy
being, but of the power of man to know and worfhip thee. Thus religion,
confidered merely as an exercife of the underilanding, is tlie higheft humanity,
the noblefl bloflbm of the human mind.
But it is more than this : it is an exercife of the human^ heart, and the pureft
direftion of it's capacities and powers. If man be created free, and iubjeft to
no earthly law, but what he impofes on himfelf, he muft foon become the moft
lavage of all creatures, if he do not quickly perceive the law of God in thcjworks
of Nature, and ftrive as a child to imitate the perfedlions of his father. Brutes
are born fervants in the great terreftrial family, and the flaviili fear of laws and
punifliments is the moft certain charadteriftlc of the brute in man. The real
man is free, and obeys from goodnefs and love : for all the lava's of Nature, where
he can perceive their tendency, are good ; and where he perceives it not, he learns
to follow them with the fimplicity of a child. If thou go not willingly, fay the
philofophers, ftill thou muft go : the law j^f Nature will noLchange on thy ac-
count ; but the more thou difcovercft it's beauty, goodnefs, and perfeftion,
the more will this living model form thee to the image of God in thine earthly
life. True religion therefore is a filial fervice of God, an imitation of the moft
high and beautiful reprefented in the human form, with the extreme of inward
fatisfaftion, slüivq goodnefs, and love of mankind-
Hence it appears, why in all religions upon Earth more or lefs fimilitude of
man with the deity muft have taken place ; as they either exalted man to God,
or degraded the father of the World to the likenefs of man. We know no form
fuperiour to our own ; and nothing can afFeft and humanize us, but what wc
conceive and feel as men. Thus a fenfual nation has exalted the human form
to divine beauty : others, of more refined fentiments, have reprefented the per-
feftions of the invifible being to the human eye by means of fymbols. Even
when the deity has thought proper to reveal himfelf to us, he has fpoken and
afted after the manner of men, as was fuitable to the fpirit of the times. No-
thing has fo much ennobled our form and nature as religion, folely becaufe it
has led them back to their pureft deftination.
That the hope and belief of immortality were connected with religion, and
eftabliflied among men by it's means, arofe from the nature of the cafe ; as th:;y
are fcarccly feparable from the idea of God and mankind. But how ? Wc arc
children of the eternal, whom we here learn by imitation to know and love, to
the knowledge of whom every thing excites u?, and whom both our fufferiiigs
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Chap, vi.] Man is formed for Humanity and Reafon. 105
and enjoyments impel us to imitate. Yet fmce we know him fo obfcurely ;
fince we imitate him fo feebly and childiflily ; nay even perceive the reafons
why we cannot know him and imitate him otherwife in our prefent oiganiza-
tion ; is it pofSble for us to attain no other ? Do our mpft indubitably bed
capacities admit of no advancement ? Then, too, thefe our nobleft faculties arc
fo little adapted to this world : they expand themfelvcs beyond it, fince every
thing here is fubfervient to the wants of our nature. And ftill we feel our nobler
part inccffantly contending againft thefe wants : precifely that which fecms the
end of man's organization finds it's birthplace indeed upon the Blarth, but by no
means it's ftate of perfeftion. Has the deity, then, broken the thread, and with
all *hefe preparations in the human fi-ame produced at laft an immature crea-
ture, deceived in the whole of his deftination ? All things upon Earth are frag-
ments : and fhall they remain for ever and ever imperfeft fragments, and the hu-
man race a group of (hadows perplexing themfelves with vain dreams ? Here
has religion knit together all the wants and hopes of mankind into /a/W, and
woven an immortal crown for humanity.
CHAPTER VII.
Man is formed for the Hope of Immortality,
I^ET not the reader expeft here any metaphyfical proof of the immortality of
the foul, from the fimplicity of it's nature, it's fpirituality, or the like. Natu-
ral philofophy knows nothing of this fimplicity, and would rather incline to ad-
vance doubts againft it, as we are acquainted with the foul only through it's
operations in a complicated organization, which appear to fpring from a diver-
fity of ftimuli and perceptions. The moft common thought is the refuk of
innumerable fingle perceptions; and the ruler of our body afts upon the nu-
merous tribe of fubordinate faculties, as if (he were locally prefent with thcin
all
Neither can Bonnet's philofophy, as it is called, the fyftem of germes, be our
guide here: for, in refpeft of the tranfition to a new exiftcnce, it is partly devoid
of demonftration, partly inapplicable. No one has difcovered in our brain a
ipiritual brain, the germe of a new exiftcnce ; neither is the leaft analogy to this
perceptible in it's ftrufture. The brain of the dead remains with us ; and if the
feed of our immortality poffefled no other powers, it would lie and be confumed
to duft. This fyftem appears to me, too, to be altogether inapplicable to the
{ubje£t : for we fpeak not here of young creatures defcending from a creature
of the fame kind, but of a dying creature, that fprings up to a new ftate of ex-
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io6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor IV.
iftcnce. Indeed, if it were exclufively true with regard to the generation of tcr-
reftrial beings, and all our hope refted upon this, it would oppofe infupcrable
doubts to this hope. If it be eternally fixed, that the flower (hall produce no-
thing but a flower, the brute a brute ; and that every thing was mechanically
framed at the beginning of creation in preformed germes ; farewel enchanting
hope of a fuperiour exiftence ! from all eternity have I lain a germe preformed
for my prefent exiftence and no other; all that was deftined to fpring from me
confifts in the preformed germes of my children ; and when the tree dies, all
the philofophy of germes dies with it.
If we would not deceive ourfelves on this important fubjedt with fine words,
we muft begin deeper, take in a wider fphere, and obferve the general ^«j/ojj of
Nature. We cannot penetrate the inmoft recefles of her powers : it would be
as vain, therefore, as it is unneceflary, to feck there for profound eflential con-
clufions upon any fubjedt. But the modes and effcds of her powers lie before
us : thefe therefore we can compare, and perhaps coUeft Mpes from the progrcls
of Nature here below, and it's general prevailing charader.
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[ 107 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORT.
BOOK V.
CHAPTER I.
A Series of ajcending Forms and Powers prevails in our Earthly Creation.
I.T7ROM ftones to cryftals, from cryftals to metals, from thcfc to plants,
* from plants to brutes, and from brutes to man, we have fecn thc/wv» of
ergamzaiion afcend j and with this the powers and propenfities of the creature
have become more various, till at length they have all united in the humaa
frame, at leaft as &r as they were fufceptible of being comprifed in it. Here
the feries flops : we know no creature above man, organized with more diver«
£ty and art : he feems the highell point attainable by terreftrial organization«
2. Throughout this feries of beings we obfervc, as far as the particular defti*
nation of the creature admits it, a predominant fimilitude of the principal form^
which, varying in numberlefs ways, more and more approaches that of man.
3. As we have obferved the forms of other creatures to approach man's, fo alfo
have we feen t\it\x faculties and propenfities. From the powers of nouri(hment
and propagation in plants they afcend to the mechanic arts of infefts, the do-
meftic economy and maternal care of birds and quadrupeds, and at length to
thoughts almoft human, and fclf-acquired capacities, till all ultfmately concen-
tre in the reafoning faculty ^ liberty ^ and humanity of man.
4. The period of each creature's life alfo is regulated by the end Nature hat
defigned it to anfwer. The plant quickly blofToms : the tree grows tardily. The
infeft, which brings it's art into the World with it, and fpeedily and abundantly
multiplies it's fpecies, foon departs : on beafts, that are longer growing up, bring
forth few at a time, or lead a life of domeftic economy bordering upon reafon,
a more extended period of exiftence is beftowed > and on man comparatively the
mod exteniive. In this, however, Nature attends not to the individual, but to
the ouuntenance of the fpecies, and the other ipecies that are above it. The
io&riour r^ons are not only peopled in abundance, but the lives of the crea*
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io8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
tures are of longer duration, where the purpofc of their exillence admits it.
The fea, that inexhauftible fource of life, longed fupports it's inhabitants, whofc
vital powen are ver}' tenacious : and the amphibia, who half live in water, ap-
proach thefe in longevity. The inhabitants of the air, lefs loaded with terref-
trial nutriment, which gradually indurates quadrupeds, live upon the whole
longer than beafts. Air and water, therefore, feem to be the grand ftorehoufes
of living beings ; which the earth afterwards confumes and dcftroys in quicker
tranfitions.
5. The more elaborate the organization of a creature is, the more ii*sflnt6iure
is compounded from the inferiour kingdoms. This coniplexednefs begins under-
neath the earth, and grows up through plants and animals to the mod compli-
cated of all creatures, man. His blood and various component parts are a
compendium of the World : earths and falts, acids and alkalies, oil and water,
the powers of vegetation, of irritability, and of fenGition, are oiganically com-
bined in him and interwoven together.
Either we mufl: confider thefe things as (ports of Nature, and intell^ent Na>
ture never fports without defign, or we (hall be led to admit a kingdom of invi-
fible powerSy (landing in the fame clofe connexion, and blending by fuch im-
perceptible tranfitions, as we perceive in the external appearances of things.
The more we learn of Nature, the more we obferve thefe indwelling powers,
even in the lowed orders of creatures, as mofies, fungufes, and the like. In
an animal, which ahnod inexhaudibly reproduces it's own likenefs, in the
mufcle, which moves brifkly and varioufly by it's own irritability, the exidence
of thefe powers cannot be denied : and thus all things are full of organically
operating omnipotence. We know not where this begins, or where it ends : for,
throughout the creation, wherever effeft is, ther« is power, wherever life dif-
plays itfelf, there is internal vitality. Thus there prevails in the invifible realm
of creation, not only a conneSied chain^ but an afcending feries of powers \ as we
perceive thefe afting before us, in organized forms, in it's vifible kingdom.
Nay this invi(ible chain mud be infinitely more clofe, firm, and progreffivc,
than the feries of external forms cognizable by our dull fenfes can (how. For
what is an organization but a mafs of infinitely more comprefled powers, the
greater part of which, even in confequence of their connexion, are limited or
fuppre(red by other powers; or at lead are fo concealed from our fight, that, as
the drops of water appear to us only in the form of a cloud, we perceive not the
individual parts, but the general figure, as the wants of the whole have required
it to be organized ? How different mud the true chain of creatures be in the
eye of oouxifcience, from that of which men fpeak ! We arrange forms, which
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Cn A P . 1.] A Series of afcending Forms and Pozvers in our Creation, 1 09
our fight is unable to penetrate ; and clafs them, like children, by particular
limbs or other marks. The fovereign father fees and holds the chain of powers
clofcly prcfiing on each other.
What is this to the immortality of the foul ? Every thing. And not to thö
immorlahty of our foul alone, but the duration of all the afting and liring
powers of creation. No power cani)erifh : for what is the meaning of a power's
periftiing ? We have no inftance of it in nature : nay we have no idea of it ia
our minds. It is a contradidion, that fomcthing Ihould be or become nothing:
it is more than a contra3idion, that a livinga<fling fomewhat, in which the creator
lumfelf is prefent, in which by energies divine he manifefts his refidcnce, (hould
be converted into nothing. The implement may be dcftroyed by external cir-
cumftances : but as not a fingle atom of it can be loft or annihilated, fo neither
can the invifiblc power, which operates in this atom. Since in every fpecies of
organization we perceive, that it's operative powers are chofen with wifdom, ar-
ranged with art, and accurately adapted to their common duration and the per-
fodion of the principal power : it would be abfurd to fuppofe of Nature, that,
the moment when a combination of thefc powers, that is an external form, ceafes,
flie fhould fuddenly depart from this care and wifdom, which alone conftitute
her divine Nature; and not only fo, but turn againß herfelf^ with her whole
omnipotence, for nothing Icfs could fuffice, to annihilate a fingle part of the
living whole, in which fhe herfelf lives eternally aäive. What the all-vivifying
calls into life, lives : whatever adls, a<5hs eternally in his eietDul whole.
As this is not the place to purfue thefe principles farther, let us confider fome
examples of them. The flower blows, and fades : that is to fay, this inftru-
ment is no longer fit to continue the operations of the vegetative power : the
tree, when it ha» produced it's ftock of fruit, dies; the machine has periflied,
and the component parts feparate. But it by no means follows from this, that
the power, that animated thefe parts, that could vegetate, and fo powerfully
propj^ate itfelf, has died with this decompofition : that power, which in this
organization ruled over a thoufand powers it had attratiled. Each atom of the
dilTolved machine retains it's inferiour power : how much more, then, muft the
more potent remain, which in this form diredled them all to one end, and aifted
in it's narrow limits with omnipotent natural qualities ! The chain of our thoughts
breaks, when we think it natural^ that a living creature (liould now poffefs in
each ofit'shmbs that powerful, felf-reftoring, irritable fpontaneity, which it dif-
plays to our eyes ; and the very next moment all thefe powers, the living proofs
of an indwelling organic omnipotence, (hould fo vanifh from the chain of be-
ings, fironi the fphcre of reality, as if it had never been.
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no PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
And (hall this contradiftion in thought take place with refpeft to the pureft
and moft adtive power we know upon Earth, the human mind ? a power fo
far raifed above all the capacities of inferiour organizations, as not only to
rule with fovereign fway the numberlefs organic powers of my body, with a
kind of omnipotence and ubiquity; but alfo, moft wonderful of wonders, to be
capable of infpeäing and governing itfelf ? Nouglit here below can exceed the
fubtilty, fwiftnefs, and efficacy of a human thought ; nought the energy, purity,
and warmth of a human volition. Let man's thoughts be as devoid of reafon
as pofiible, ftill on every occafion, when he thinks, he imitates the difpofing
deity ; in whatever he wills and performs, he imitates the creating God. The
fimilitude lies fn the thing itfelf: it is grounded on the eflence of his mind.
Shall the power, that is capable of knowings loving, and imitating God ; nay,
that from the very eflence of it's reafon is compelled to know and imitate him
as it were againft it's will, fince even it's very faults and crrours arife only from
weaknefs and illufion ; be no more P and the moft powerful fovereign upon
Earth perifli ; becaufe an external circumftance of compofition is changed, and
fome of it's loweft fubjedbs have revolted ? Does the artift no longer cxift, be-
caufe the tools have dropped from his hand ? If fo, where is the concatenation
of our thoughts ?
CHAPTER II.
No Power in Natnre is without an Organ ; but the Organ is in no tnßance the Tower
itfelf^ that operates by it* s Means.
Priesti^ey and others have objefted to the fpiritualifts, that no fuch thing
as pure fpirit is known in the univerfe ; and that we by no means fee far enough
into the nature of matter, to deny it the faculty of thinking, or other fpiritual
qtialities. In both points they appear to me to be right. A fpirit operating
without and external to matter we know not : and we fee in matter fo many
powers of a fpiritual kind, that a conjplete oppoßtion and contradiäion between
thefe two things, fpirit and matter, though they are abfolutely very different,
appear to me, if not felfevidently inconfiftent, at leaft altogether void of proof.
How can two things operate in conjunftion, and with internal harmony, that
are perfectly diflimilar, and eflentially oppofite to each other ? and how can we
maintain, that they are lo, when we know the nature neither of one nor of the
Other ?
Wherever we perceive a power operate, it operates in fome organ, and in har-
mony with it : at leaft without an organ it would be invifible to our fenfes ;
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Chap. II.] No Power in Nature without an Organ. 1 1 1
but it exifts with one, and if we may truft the analogy, that pervades all Na-
ture, it has fafliioned itfelf in it. Preformed germes, lying ready ever fince the
creation, no eye has yet beheld : all that we obferve from the firft inftant of a
CTeature's exiftence are a6ting organic powers. If an individual contain thefe in
itfelf, it propagates it's fpecies without afllftance : if the fexes be divided, each
muft contribute to the organization of their progeny, and in different modes,
according to the diverfity of their ftrufture. Beings of the nature of plants, the
powers of which operate (imply, and in confequence the more intimately, require
but the contaft of a flight effluvium, to give life to their felfprocreated off-
fpring : alfo in animals, where the vital ftimulus, and a tenacity of life, prevail
in every limb, fo that the power of production and reproduction pervades al-
moft their whole fubftance, their progeny in many cafes do not require to be
animated, till they are excluded from the womb. The more complex the or-
ganization of a creature, the lefs diftinguifliable is what is called it's germe : it
is organic matter, which muft receive vital powers, before it can attain the form
of the future creature. What procelTes take place in the egg of a bird, before
the young acquires and completes it's form \ The organic powers muft dcftroy
while they arrange ; attraft parts together, and feparate them ; nay it feems as
if feveral powers were at ftrife, and at firft would produce an abortion, till an
equilibrium is eftabliflied between them, and the creature becomes what it
ought to be after it's kind. If we contemplate thefe changes, thefe living ope-
rations, as well in the egg of the bird, as in the womb of the viviparous qua-
druped J I think it is {peaking improperly, to talk of germes that arc merely
evolved, or of an epigenefis, according to which the limbs are fuperadded from
without. It \% formation (geneßs), an effeft of internal powers, for which Nature
has prepared a mafs, which they are to fafliion, and in which they are to difplay
themfelves. This is the experience of Nature : this the periods of formatioa
in the various fpecies, according to their more or lefs complex organization ancj
fulnefs of vital power, confirm: hence alone can we explain the malconforma-
tion of creatures, from difeafe, accident, or the intermixture of different fpecies:
and this is the only mode, that Nature, abounding in power and vitality, forces
as it were upon our minds, by a progreffive analogy in all her works.
Tlie reader would mifapprehend my meaning, if he were to afcribe to me the
opinion, that, as fome have exprefled themfelves, our rational foul had fabricated
it's body in the womb by means of it's reafon. We have feen. how late the
faculty of reafon is formed in us ; and that, though we come into the World
with a capacity for it, we are not capable of poflcflSi^ or acquiring it by our
CViii power. And how could the matureft reafon of man be capable of fuch
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Ill PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookV.
a ftrufture; fince we comprehend no part of it either within or without, and
even the greater part of our vital funftions are performed without any volition
or confcioufncfs of the mind ? It was not our reafon, that fafliioned the body,
but the finger of God, organic powers. Thefe the eternal has led fo far on the
great road of Nature, that now, enchained by his hand, they have found their
fphere of creation in a little world of organic matter, which he had feparatcd,
and diftindlly enveloped for the formation of the young being. They unite har-
monically with their frame, in which, as long as it endures, they harmonically
aft : and when it is worn out, their creator calls them from their poft, and pre-
pares for them another fphere of aftion.
If, therefore, we follow the courfe of Nature, it is evident,
1. That powers and organs are indeed intimately connefted, but not one
and the fame. The matter of our body exifted, but Ihapelefs and lifelefs, till
fiifhioned and animated by the organic powers.
2. Every power operates in harmony with it's organ : for it has fafliioned it
folely for the difplay of it's eflence, it has affimilated the parts, into which the
almighty has introduced it, and in which he has increafed it.
3. When the fliell drops off, the power, which already exifted before it,
thougli in an inferiour yet organized ftate, ftill remains. If it were poffiblc, that
the power fliould pafs from it's former ftate into this, it muft be equally capa-
ble of a ferther tranfition, when it lofes this covering. He, who has brought it,
uid others ftill more imperfeft, thus far, will take care to provide a medium.
And has not ever-uniform Nature given us a glimpfe of the medium, in
v^^hich all the powers of creation operate ? In the deepeft receffes of being,
where we perceive germinating life, we difcover the infcrutable and aftive cle-
ment, whict we defignate by the imperfeft appellations of lighty ethery vital
warmth ; and which is probably the fenforium of the creator of all things, by
which he warms and quickens whatever is quickened and warmed. This ftrcam
of celeftial fire, poured out into thoufands and millions of organs, runs ftill finer
and finer : through this vehicle, it is probable, all the powers here below ope-
rate ; and the generative faculty, the wonder of the terreftrial creation, is in-
feparable from it. It is likely, that our frame was conftrufted, even in it's grofler
parts, to attraft this eledric ftream in greater quantity, and render it more ela-
borate : and in the nobler faculties, not the grofs eledric fluid, but fomething,
prepared by our organization itfelf, infinitely more exquifite, yet fimilar to it, is
the inftrument of our mental and corporal perceptivity. Either the operation of
xny foul has nothing analogous to it here below j and in this cafe I can comprehend
neither how it ads upon the body, nor how other objedts are capable of aäing
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Chap. IL] No Power in Nature without an Organ, 1 13
upon it : or it is this invifible Ipirit of celeftial light and fire, which penetrates
every living thing, and unites all the powers of nature. In the human frame
It has attained the higheft degree of fubtility, of which it is capable in any ter-
reftrial organization : by it's means the foul afts almoft omnipotently on her
organs, and beams back upon herfelf with a confcioufnefs, that moves her inmoft
eflence. By means of it the mind is filled with noble warmth, and is capable
by free volition of tranfporting itfelf as it were out of the body, nay even beyond
the world, and bending them to it's will. It has, therefore, acquired a power
over them ; and when it's hour is come, when it's external machine is diflblved,
what can be more natural, than that it fliould draw after it what is affimilated
to it, and intimately combined with it ? It removes into it's medium, and
this draws us — or rather thou draweft and leaded us, thou omniprefent plaftic
power of God, thou foul and mother of all living being, thou gently Icadeft and
fafhioneft us to our new deftination.
Thus, I conceive, the fallacy of the arguments, by which the materialifts
imagine they have refuted the opinion of our immortality, is evident. Be it,
that we know nothing of our foul as pure fpirit : we defire not to know it as
fuch. Be it, that it acVs only as an organic power : it was not intended to aft
otherwife : nay, I will add farther, it muft neceffarily have firft learned in thi«
ftate, to think with a human brain, and to feel with human nerves, and have
falhioned itfelf to fome degree of reafon and humanity. Laftly, be it, that it
is originally the fame with all the powers of matter, of irritability, of motion,
of life, and merely adls in a higher fphere, in a more elaborate and fubtile orga-
nization : has one fingle power of motion and irritability been feen to perifli }
are thefe inferiour powers one and the fame with their organs ? can he, who in-
troduced an innumerable multitude of thele into my body, and ordained each
it*s form; who fet my foul over them, aj)pointed the feat of her operations, and
gave her in the nerves bands by which all thefe powers are linked together;
want a medium in the great chain of nature, to tranfport her out of it? and
can he fail to do this, when.he has fo wonderfully introduced her into this or-
ganic houfc, eviilently to form her to a fuperiour deftination !
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1X4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
CHAPTER III.
Tie general Campcfition of Poweis and Forms is neither retrograde^ wur fiationary^
but progreßve.
This pofition appears fdfevident : for how can we conceive any living power
in nature to ftand ftill, or retrograde, uolefs it be circumrcribed» or repelled,
by fome inimical fuperiour power ? It afts as an organ of the almighty» as
an a&ive idea of his permanent plan of creation ; and thus it mud adkively in«
creafe it's powers. All it's deviations mud incline it again to it's right courie ;
for fupreme goodnefe cannot want means to propel the rebounding ball to \C%
goal, by fome new impuUe, by fome frefli incitement. But let us lay afide me-
taphyficsy and confider the analogies of nature.
Nothing m nature ftands ftill ; every thing exerts itfelf, and pulhes on. Could
we contemplate the firft periods of creation, and fee how one kingdom of na-
ture was erefted on another; what a feries of powers urging onward would be
di(played progreffively unfolding themfelves ! Why have we and all animals
calcareous earth in oxa bones ? Becaufe it is one of the laft ftages of grofs ter*
reftrial matter, which, fix>m it's internal ftrudure^ is already capable of being
employed in a living organized frame for it's bony &bric. It is the fame with
all the component parts of our bodies.
When tlie door of creation was (hut, the forms of organization already choien
remained as appointed ways and gates, by which the inferiour powers might in
future raife and improve themfelves, within the limits of nature. New forms
arife no more : but our powers are continually varybg in their progre(s throi^h
thofe that exift, and what is termed organi2:ation is properly nothing more than
their conduäor to a higher ßate.
The firft creature that ftepped into light, and exhibited itfelf to the beams of
the Sun, as a queen of the fubterranean kingdom, was a plant. What are it's
component parts ? Salts, oil, iron, fulphur, and fuch other powers of a finer
kind, as were capable of being exalted to it. How did it acquire thefe parts ?
By it's internal organic power, by means of which, aided by the elements, it
ftrove to appropriate them to itfelf. And what does it with them ? It attia&s
them, elaborates them within it's effence, and renders them ftill finer. Thus
plants, both wholefome and poi(bnous, are nothing more than conduftors
of grofs particles to a finer condition : the whole mechanifm of a plant confifts
in exalting inferiour fubftances to a (uperiour ftate.
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Chap. III.] Cmpoßtion of Powers tmd Forms fropreßve. 1 1 5
The animal ftands above the plant, and fubiifts on it's juices. The fingle
elephant is the grave of mUlions of plants : but he is a living, operative grave ;
he animalizes them into parts of himfelf : the inferiour powers afcend to the
moie fubtile form of vitality. It is the lame with all carnivorous beafts: Na-
ture has made the tranfition (hort, as if fhe feared a lingering death above all
things. She has accordingly abridged it, and accelerated the mode of trans-
formation into fuperiour vital forms. The greateft murderer among all animals
is man, the creature that poflefles the fined organs. He can affimilate to his
nature almoft every thii^, unlefs it fink too üx beneath him in living organi-
zation.
Wherefore has the Creator chofen this fyftem of living beings, in external
appearance fo deftruftive ? Did fome hoftile power interfere in the work, and
make one (pedes th« prey of another ? or was it want of powet in the creator,
who knew not how otherwife to fupport his children ? Strip off the outer in-
t^ument, and there is no fuch thing as death in the creation : every demoli«
tion is but a pafTage to a higher fphere of life; and the wife &ther of all has
made this as early, quick, and various, as was confident with the mamtenance
of the i^cies, and the happinefs of the creature, that was to enjoy it's int^u*
ment, and improve it as fiir as poffible. By a thoufand violent modes of end«
ing life, he has prevented tedious deaths, and promoted the germe of blooming
powers to (uperiour organs. What is Hi^prowtk of a creature, but it's fteady
endeavour to unite more organic powers with it's nature ? The different ftages
of it's life are regulated by thb end ; and when it is no longer capable of this
operation, it muft decline, and die. Nature difiiiifies the machine, when (he
finds it no loi^r fervioeable for her purpofe of found affimilation, of aftive
improvement.
In what does the art of the phyßcian confift, but in afting as the fervant of
Nature, and haftening to the aid of the multifarioufly working powers of our
organization ? He reftores loft powers, ftrer^hens the weak, diminifhes and
reftrains the exuberant : and by what means ? by the introduäion and aflimi-
lation of fimilar or oppofite powers/ro/» the inferiour kingdoms,
T\ic propagation of all living beings tells us the lame : for however deep it's
(ecrets lie, it is evident, that oi^anic powers expand themfelves in the grcat^
aÄivity, and ftrive to put on new forms. As every kind of organization has the
faculty of affimilating to itfelf inferiour powers, fo, ftrengthened bythefe, in tlie
bloom of life, it has the capacity of producing it's own likenefs, and giving to
the world an image of itfelf, with all the powen that operate in it, to fupply
it's place.
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ii6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
Thus the fcale of improvement afcends through the inferiour ranks of na-
ture ; and fhall it ftand ftill, or retrograde, in the nobleft and moft powerful ?
The animal requires for it's nutriment only vegetable powers, with which it
enlivens parts of a vegetable nature : the juices of the mufcles and nerves are
incapable of contributing again to the nourifliment of any terreftrial creature.
Even the blood ferves only to refrefh rapacious animals : and in nations, that
have been induced to make ufe of it, either as a matter of inclination or ne-
ceflity, we perceive the propenlities of beafts, whofe living food they have
barbaroufly adopted. Thus the kingdom of thought and irritability, as in-
deed it's nature requires, is without any vifible advancement and tranfition
here ; and the eftablifliment of nations has made it one of the firft laws of hu-
man feeling, not to defire for food a living animal with it's blood. All thcfe
powers are evidently of a fpiritual kind : whence perhaps many hypothefes re-
lating to the nervous fluid as a perceptible vehicle of fenfations miglit have
been fpared. The nervous fluid, if fuch a fluid there be, prefervcs the brain
and nerves in health, fo that without it they would become ufelcfs cords and
veflTels: it's ofiice therefore, is wholly corporal, and the operation of the foul,
in it's perceptions and powers, is altogether fpiritual, whatever organs it may
employ.
To what, then, are thefe fpiritual powers converted, that efcape every fenfe of
man ? Here Nature has wifely drawn a curtain before us j and, as we have no
fenfe adapted to the purpofe, has not given us any glimpfe of the changes and
tranfitions in the fpiritual kingdom. Probably the fight would be incompati-
ble with our exiftence upon Earth, and the fenfual feelings with which we are
here endowed. Accordingly flie has placed before us only tranfitions from the
inferiour kingdoms, and afcending forms j the thoufand invifible ways by which
flie condu£b them onward ihe has kept to herfelf : and thus the kingdom of
things unborn is the great u^u, or Hades, into which no human eye can pene-
trate. Indeed the determinate form, which every fpecies retains, and in which
not the minuteft bone varies, feems to contradidt this extinftion : but the
ground of this is vifible j for every creature can and muft be organized only
by creatures of it's own fpecies. Thus our fl^ble, orderly mother has ftriftly de-
termined the way, in which an organized powex, whether paramount or fubfcr-
vient, fliould attain vifible aftivity, fo that nothing can efcape her once deter-
mined forms. In man, for example, the greatefl: variety of inclinations and
capacities prevails, which we often contemplate with aftonilhment, as wonderfiii
and unnatural, yet cannot comprehend. Now fince thefe cannot exift without
organic grounds^ we are led to confider the human fpecies, if we may be allowed
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Ch A p . III.] Compofition of Powers and Forms prcgreßve. 117
a conjedlure on this obfcurity of the ftorehoufe of creation, as thep'tat confluence
of inferiour organic powers^ which were to unite in it for the formation of
man.
But farther : man has here born the image of God, and enjoyed the fined
organization, that this Earth could give him : ßiall he turn backwards, and
become again a ftalk, a plant, an elephant ? or does the machinery of creation
terminate in him, fo that there is no other wheel on which he can aft } The
latter is not to be conceived, as in the kingdom of fupreme wifdom and goodnefs
every thing is connefted, and power afts on power in one eternal chain. Now
if we look back, and obicrvc how every thing behind us feems to travel onward
to the human form; and again, that we find in man only the firft bud and
fketch of what he Ihould be, and to which he is evidently framed : either man
muft proceed forwards, in whatever way or manner it may be, or all connexion
and defign in nature is but a dream. Let us fee how the whole frame of human
nature leads us to this point.
CHAPTER IV.
^Ae Spiere of human Organization is a Syflem offpiriiual Powers,
The principal doubt ufually raifed againft the immortality of organic powers
is deduced from the implements with which they operate ; and I may venture
to aflcrt, that the illuftration of this doubt will throw the greateft light, not
merely on the hope, but on the affurance» of their eternal continuance in afti-
vity. No flower bloflbms by means of the external duft, the grofs particles
of it's ftrufture : much lefs does an ever-growing animal reproduce itfelf by
their means : and fl:ill lefs can we conceive an internal power like our mind,
compofed of fo many united powers, to arife from the component parts into
which a brain may be refolved. Even phyficdogy convinces us of this. The ex-
ternal pifture, that is painted on the eye, comes not to the brain : the found»
that ftrikes our ear, does not reach the mind mechanically as a found. There
is no nerve fo ftretched out as to vibrate to a point of union : in fomc animals
the optic nerves do not unite in a vifible point i and there is no creature in
which the nerves of all the fenfes fo unite. Still lefs is there an union of all
the nerves of the whole body, though the foul feels herfelf prefent, and afts^
in it's minuteft member. To imagine the brain, therefore, to be felf-cogita-
tive, the nervous fluid felf-fentient, is a weak, unphyfiological notion : it is
more confiftent with general experience, that there are particular pfychological
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ii8 THILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. TBookV.
laws^ by which the foul performs her funöions, and combines her ideas. That
this is done conformably to her organs, and in harmony with them ; that, when
the tools are defedivc, the artift can do nothing ; and the like ; cannot be
queftioned : yet the nature of the cafe remains the fame. The manner in
which the foul operates, the ejfence of her ideaSy come here under confideration.
And with regard to this point it is,
1. Undeniable, that the thought ^ nay the firfl: perception, with which the foul
reprefents to herfelf an external objeft, is fomet hing totally different from what the
fenfe offers to her. We name it an image : but it is not the image, that is the
fpeck of light, which is piftured in the eye, and which does not rcadi the
brain : the image in the foul is a (piritual being, formed by herfelf from the
fuggeftions of the fcnfes. From the chaos of things that furrounds her ßie
calls forth a figure, on which (he fixes her attention, and thus by her intrinfic
power (he forms out of the many a whole, that belongs to herfelf alone. This
£he can again revive, when it exifts no more : dreams and the Imagination can
combine it according to laws very different from tho(c, under which the fenfes
exhibit it ; and this they aftually do. The reveries of difeafe, which have been
fo often urged as proofs of the materiality of the foul, atteft her immateriality.
Liften to the lunatic, and obferve the progrefs of his mind. It proceeds on the
idea that has touched it too deeply, and in confequence deranged it's organ,
and broken it's connexion with other fenfations. To this he refers every thing,
becaufe this is predominant, and he cannot (hake it off: for this he forms a
world of his own, a peculiar concatenation of thoughts 5 and all the wanderings
of his mind in the connexion of it's ideas are in the highefl degree ^/r//Ȁ/. He
combines things not according to the pofition of the cells of his brain, not even
as the fenfations appear to it ; but according to the affinity other ideas bear to
his idea, and his power of bending them to it. All the afTociations of our
thoughts proceed in the fame way : they pertain to a being, which calls up remem-
brances by it's own energy, and often with a particular idiofyncrafy ; and con-
nefts ideas from internal affeftion or propcnfity, not firom external mechanifin.
I wifh, that ingenuous men would difclofe to us the regifters of their hearts on
this point; and that acute obfervers, particularly phyficians, would make
known the qualities they perceive in their patients : if this were done, I am
convinced, we (hould have dear proofs of the operation of a being, oiganic it
is true, yet aftipg of itfelf, and according to fpiritual laws.
2, The fame thing is demonftratcd by the artificial formation of our ideas
from childhood upwards^ and from the tedious courfe^ by which the foul arrives
not till late at a confcioufncfs of herfelf, and learns with confiderable labour, to
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Chap. IV.] TAe Spiere of human Organization a Syftem offpiritual Ff>wers. 1 1 9
make ufe of the fenfes. More than one pfychologlft has obferved the addrefs,
with which a child acquires the idea of colour« figure, magnitude^ and diftance,
and thus /earns to fee. The corporal fenfe teaches nothing ; for the image is
depidted in the eye the firft moment of it's opening, as faithfully as it is at the
lateft period of life : but the foul learns to meafure, to compare, and fpiritually
to perceive, by means of the fenfe. In this (he is affifted by the ear : and lan-
guage is certainly a fpiritual, not corporal, mean of forming ideas. No one,
unlefs devoid of fenfe, can take found and word for the fame thing : yet thefe
two differ as body and foul, as organ and power. A word brings to remem-
brance it's correfpondent idea, and transfers it from the mind of another to
ours : bot the word is not the idea ; and juft as far is the material organ from
being thought. As the body is increafed by food, fo is our mind enlarged by
ideas : nay we remark in it the fame laws of affimilation, growth, and produc-
tion, only not in a corporal manner, but in a mode peculiar to itfelf. The
mind can equally overgorgc itfelf with food, which it is incapable of appro-
priating and converting into nutriment. There is alfo a fymmetry of it's fpi-
ritual powers, every deviation from which is difeafe, either flhenic or afthenic,
that is, depravity. Finally, it carries on this bufmefs of it's internal life with
a genial power, in which love and hatred, inclination to what is of it's own na-
ture, and averfion to whatever is diffimilar to it, difplay themfelves as in terref-
trial life. In fliort, fanaticifm apart, an internal fpiritual man is formed in us,
who has a nature of his own, and ufes the body only as his implement ; nay, who
afts conformably to his own nature, even if the bodily organs be ever fo much
deranged. The more the foul is fcparated from the body by difeafe, or any
forced flate of the pafTions, and compelled to wander as it were in her own
ideal world > the more fmgular appearances of her own power and energy do
we obferve in the creation or connexion of ideas. In defpair (lie wanders
through the fccnes of her former life ; and, as (he cannot rellnquifh her nature,
and abandon her office, of forming ideas, (he now prepares for hcrfelf a new
Tuild creation.
3. A more clear confcioufnefs^ that great excellence of the human foul, is gra-
duallylräiuired by it in z, fpiritual manner^ and indeed through humanity. A
ckild poffeflb little confcioufnefs ; though his foul is inceflantly exercifing
bcrfelf to attain it, and to feel herfelf in every fenfe. All her endeavours after
ideas are for the purpofe of acquiring a perception of herfelf in this world of
God's, and enjoying her exidence with human energy. The brute flill wanders
ia an obfcure dream : his confcioufnefs is difiufed through fb many bodily
initatioDS, and fo powerfully enveloped by theno» that it is impol&ble for it, to
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110 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
awake to a clear progreffive exercife of thought on his own organization. Man
too is confcious of his fenfual ftate only through the medium of the fenfe :
and when thcfe fuffer, we need not wonder, that a prevailing idea can drive
him out of his mind, and fet him to aft within himfelf a mirthful or melan-
choly drama. But even his being thus tranfported into a region of more vivid
ideas evinces an internal energy, with which the power of his confcioufnefs, of
his fpontaneity, often difplays itfelf in the mod erroneous paths. Nothing
renders man fo ftrongly fenfible of his own exlftence as knowledge ; the know-
ledge of a truth, which he has himfelf acquired, which is interwoven with his
inmofl nature, and while he contemplates which the vifible objefts around
him vanifh from his fight. A man forgets himfelf, he is unconfcious of the
lapfe of time, and of his vital powers, when fome fublime thought calls him,
and he purfues it's courfe. The moft acute bodily pain may be fupprefled by
the prevalence of fome one vivid idea in the mind. Men under the influence
of paflion, particularly the moft pure and lively of all, the love of God, have
defpifed life, and contemned death ; and, all other ideas being thus fwallowed
up in one, have felt themfelves as if in Heaven. The moft ordinary work is
laborious, if the body alone perform it : but love makes the heavieft occupation
light, and gives wings to the moft tedious and diftant exertions. Space and
time vanifli before her: (he is ever at her point, in her own ideal region. This
nature of the mind difplays itfelf even among the moft favage people : it mat-
ters not for what they fight ; they fight in the throng of ideas. The cannibal,
thirfting for revenge, ftrives, though in a horrible mode, for a fpiriiiial enjoy-
ment.
4. No ftate, difeafe, or quality, of the organ, can miflead us, to feel the
power, that afts in it, as primary. The memory, for example, differs according
to the variety of men's organization : in one it is formed and fupportcil by-
images; in another, by abftraft figns, by words or numbers. In youth, while
the brain is foft, it is vivid : in age, when the brain hardens, it is dull, and ad-
heres to old ideas. It is the fame with the other faculties of the foul ; and it
cannot be otherwife if they operate organically. By the way, we may here
remark the laivs of the retention and renovation of ideas : they arc altogether Tpiri-
tual, and not corporal. There have been perfons, who have loll the rcmembnmce
of certain years, nay of certain parts of fpeech, names, fubftantives, or even par-
ticular letters and charafters ; while they retained the memory of preceding
years, and had the free ufe and recoUeftion of other parts of fpeech ; the foul
was fettered only in one limb, where the organ fuffered. If the chain of Iier
n*eatal ideas were material, (he muft either, conformably to thefe phenomena.
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Cm AP. IV.] Tie Spiere of human Organization a Syftem offpiriinal lowers, x 2 1
move about in the brain, and form particular records for certain years, for names
and fubftantives ; or, if the ideas harden with the brain, they muft all be har-
dened; and yet the remembrance of youth is ftill ver}' lively in the old. At a
time when from the (late of her organs the foul can no longer combine things
quickly, or lightly think them over, flic adheres the more firmly to the acqui-
iitions of her more blooming years, of which flie difpofes as of her own property.
Immediately before death, and in all fituations in which (he feels herfelf Icfs
fettered by the body, this remembrance awakes with all the vivacity of youth-
ful joy; and on this the pleafure of the aged, and the happinefs of the dying,
principally depend. From the commencement of life our foul appears to have
but one office; that of acquiring internal fliape^ tht form of iumanity^ and to feel
herlelf found and happy in this, as the body in that which pertains to it. In this
office fhe labours as inceflantly, and with as much fympathy of all her powers,
as the body does for it's health ; which, when any part is injured, immediately
feels it all over, and applies it's juices as far as it can, to repair the breach,
and heal the wound. In the fame manner does the foul labour for her always
precarious and often illufory health ; endeavouring to confirm and augment it,
fometimes by proper means, at others by fallacious remedies. The art that (he
employs for this purpofe is wonderful, and the ftore of medicaments and re-
fources (lie knows how to provide is immenfe. If the femeiotics of the foul
(hould ever be ftudled in the fame manner as thofc of the body, her proper (pi-
ritual nature will be fo apparent in all her difeafes, that the dogmas of the ma-
tcrialifts will vanifli like mills before the Sun. Nay to him, who is convinced
of this internal life of himfelf all external circumftances, in which the body, like
other matter, is continually changing, will be at length only tranfitlons, that af-
fcft not his cflence : he will pafs out of this world into the next with as little
attention as from night to day, or from one feafon of life to another.
The creator has given us daily experience how far every thing in our machine
is from being infeparable from us, and from each other, in the brother of Death,
refrcfhing Sleep. The gentle touch of his finger difTolves the moft important
funftions of life : nerves and mufcles repofe : the fenfes ceafe to perceive : yet
tlic foul continues to think in her own domain. She is no more feparated from
ihe body than when it was awake, as the perceptions often interwoven in our
dreams evince : yet die ads according to her own laws, even in the profoundeft
deep, of the dreams of which we have no remembrance, unlefs we be fuddenly
awakened. Many people have obferved, that in undifturbed dreams their foul
purfues the fame ferics of ideas uninterruptedly, in a manner different from
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ix% PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
what it does in the waking {late, and wanders in a more beautiful, lively, and
in general youthful world. The perceptions in a dream arc more vivid, the
pafiions more violent, the connexion of thoughts and poflibility more eafy, our
light more keen, and the light that furrounds us more brilliant. In healthy
fleep wc often fly rather than walk, our dimenfions are enlarged, our refolutions
have more force, our adions are Icfs confined. And though all this depends on
the body, as the leaft circumftance rcfpeöing the foul muft harmonize with it, as
long as her powers are fo intimately incorporated with it's ftrudlure ; yet the whole
of the phenomena of fleep and dreaming, which arc certainly lingular, and would
greatly aftonifti us, were we not accufl:omed to them, fiiows us, that every part
of the body does not belong to us in the fame manner ; nay, that certain organs
of our machine may be unflrung, and the fuperiour power a£t more ideally, vi-
vidly, and freely, from mere rcminifcence. Now fince all the caufcs that in-
duce fleep, and all it's corporal fymptoms, are, not metaphorically, but phyfio-
logically and adtually analogous 1o thofe of death ; why fliould not the fpiritual
fymptoms of both be the fame ? Thus, then, when the fleep of death falls on
lis from wearinefs or difeafe, ftiU the hope remains, that death, like fleep, only
cools the fever of life, gently interrupts the too uniform and long continued
movement, heals many wounds incurable in this life, and prepares tlie foul for a
pleafurable awakening, for the enjoyment of a new morning of youth. As in
dreams my thoughts fly back to youth j as in them, being only half- fettered by
a few organs, but more concentred in myfelf, I fed more free and aftive : fo
thou, revivifying dream of death, wilt fmilingly bring back the youth of my
life, the moft pleafing and energetic moments of my exiftence, till I awake in
it's form — or rather in the more beautiful form of celeftial juvenility.
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CHAPTER V.
Our Humanity is only Preparation^ the Bud of a future Fltmer.
/ We have fccn, that the end of our prefent exiftencc is the formation oi huma^
nity^ to which all the meaner wants of this Earth are fubfervient, and which they
are all contrived to promote. Our reafoning capacity is to be formed to reafon>
our finer fenfes to art, our propenfities to genuine freedom and beauty, our
moving powers to the love of mankind. Either we know nothing of our defli-
nation, and the deity deceives us in every internal and external fymptom of it,
to fay which would be fenfelefs calumny ; or we may deem ourfelves as certain
of this end, as of the being of a god, or our own cxiftence.
Yet how feldom is this eternal, this infinite end, attained here ! In whole na-
tions reafon lies bound with the chains of animal fenfe j truth is fought in the
moft erroneous ways; and that beauty and uprightnefs, to which we were
created by God, are corrupted by negligence and depravity. Few men make
godlike humanity, in the pure and extenfive fignification of the word, the proper
fiudy of their lives : moft begin very late to think of it ; and in the beft of men
inferiour propenfities draw down the exalted human being to animality. Who
among mortals can fay, that he will reach, or has attained, the pure im^e of
man, that lies in him ?
Either, therefore, the creator has erred in the end he has placed before us, and
the organization he has fo fkilfuUy compofed for the attainment of it j or this
end reaches beyond our prefent exiftence, and the Earth is only a place of exer-
cifey and this life 2^ßate of preparation. On this, it is true, much that is bafe
muft be aflbciated with the moft exalted j and man is raifed, upon the whole,
but a fliort ftep above the brute. Nay even among men the greateft variety
muft fubfift ; as ever}' thing upon Earth is fo multifarious, and in many regions,
and under many circumftances, the human fpecies is fo deeply depreffed by the
yoke of climate and neceffity. The defign of plaftic Providence muft have
taken in all thefe fteps, thefe zones, thefe varieties, at one view, and known how
to advance man in all of them, as (he has gradually exalted inferiour powers, with-
out their confcioufnefs. It is furprifing, though inconteftible, that of all the
inhabitants of the Earth man is the fartheft from attaining the end of his defti-
nation. Every beaft attains what his organization can attain : man only reaches
it not, becaufe his end is fo high, fo extenfive, fo infinite ; and he begins on thi^
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124 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
Earth fo low, fo late, and with fo many external and internal obftaclcs. Inftincl,
the maternal gift of Nature, is the fure guide of the brute : he is dill a fcn-ant
in the houfe of the fovereign father, and muft obey. Man lives in it as a child,
and, a few neceflary propenfities excepted, has every thing that pertains to reafon
and humanity to learn. At the fame time he learns imperfedly, bccaufe, with
the feeds of underflanding and virtue, he inherits prejudices and evil manners j
and in his progrefs to truth and liberty is retarded by chains, that reach from the
commencement of his fpecies. The footfteps, that godlike men have imprinted
before and around him, are united and confufed with many others, in which
brutes and robbers have wandered ; and thefe, alas ! are often more aftive, than
the feleft few of great and good. We muft therefore arraign Providence, as
many have done, for fuffering man to border fo nearly on the brute, which he
was not defigned to be, and denying him fuch a degree of light, firmnefs, and
certainty, as might have ferved his reafon inftead of inftinä: j or this defefl'ivc
beginning is a proof of his endlefs progrefs. For man muft himfelf acquire by
exercife this degree of light and fecurity, fo as under the guidance of his father
to become a nobler^ freer creature, by his own exertions j and thh he v:ill become^
Thus the fimular of man will become man in reality : thus the bud of humanity,
benumbed by cold, and parched by heat, will expand in it's true form, in it'»
proper and full beauty^.
Hence we may eafily infer what part of us alone can pafs into the other world :
it is this godlike humanity y the unopened bud of the true form of man. All the
drofs of this Earth is for it alone : we leave the terreftrial part of our bones to
the foffil kingdom, from which it was derived, and return to the elements what
we had borrowed from them. All the fenfual appetites, which in us, as in the
brutes, have been fubfervient to the earthly economy, have performed their of-
fice : in man they were to be the occafions of nobler fentiments and exertions,
and when they have done this, they have fulfilled the purpofe, for wliich they
were defigned. The want of food was to excite him to labour^ to fociety, to
obedience to laws and eftablilhments, and fetter him by a falutary chain, in-
difpenfable on Earth. The fexual appetite was to plant fociablenefs, and parental,
connubial, and filial love, even in the rigid breaft of barbarity ; and render te^
dious exertions for his fpecies pleafant to man, by his undertaking them for his
own flefti and blood. Nature had fimilar purpofes in all earthly wants : each
was to be a matrix of fome germe of humanity. Happy is it wjien the germc
buds : it will bloflbm beneath the beams of a more glorious fun/Truth, beauty,
and love are the objefts, at which man aims in all his endeavours, even without
being confcious of it, and often by the moft devious paths : the perplexities of
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Chap. V. J Our Humanity only Preparationy the Bud of a future Flower. 125
the liabyrinth will be unfolded, the feduäive forms of enchantment will vanifh,
and every one will not only fee the centre, far or near, to which his way tends,
but thou, maternal Providence, under the form of the genius and friend he needs,
wilt guide him to it thyfelf, with a gentle and forgiving hand *.
Thus, too, the good creator has concealed from us the form of that world,
that our weak brain might not be dazzled, or a fpurious premature defire ex-
cited in us. If with this we contemplate the progrefs of Nature in the fpecies
beneath us, and obferve how the artift rejefts the more ignoble, and mitigates
the claims of neceffity, ftcp by flep j while, on the other hand, (he improves the
Ipiritual, purifies the refined, and animates the beautiful with fuperiour beauty :
we may with confidence truft the invifible operating hand, that thQßower of our
bud of humanity will certainly appear, in a future ftate of exiftence, in a form
truly that oi godlike many which no earthly fenfe can imagine in all it's grandeur
and beauty. It is vain, therefore, for us to rack our imagination : and though
I am convinced, that, as all the ftates of creation are moft intimately connefted,
the organic powers of our foul, in their pureft and moft fpiritual exertions, lay
the foundations of their future appearance; or that at leaft, unconfcious of it
themfelves, they weave the texture, that will ferve for their clothing, till the
beams of a more beautiful fun awaken their profoundeft energies, which are here
concealed from themfelves : it would be rafh, to Iketch out the laws, by which
the creator forms a world, with the operations of which we are fo unacquainlal.
Suffice it, that all the changes we obferve in the inferiour regions of nature arc
tendencies to perfeBion ; and that thus we have at leaft hints of a fubjedt, into
which we are incapable of penetrating for more important reafons. The flower
appears to our eye firft as a feed, and then as a plantule : the plantule becomes
a plant, and then at length comes out the flower, which begins it's different
ftages of life in this terrefbial economy. Similar procefTes and clianges occur in
ieveral creatures, among which the butterfly is fo confpicuous, as to have be-
come a wellknown emblem. Behold, there crawls the defpicable caterpillar,
obeying the grofs appetite of eating: his hour comes, and the languor of death
falls upon him : he fceks a fupport j he wraps himfelf up in his winding (heet,
the web of which, as well as in part the organs of his future ftate, he has already
within him. His rings now go to work, and the internal organic powers exert
themfelves. The change is at firft flow, and has the appearance of deftruftion.
• In what way ? what philofophy is there migration and other purificative proccflcs, and
npon Earthj that^ives us certainty in this re- inveftigate their origin and defign. fiat this
fpca ? In the feqael of the work, we (hall is not the place for the inquiry,
conic to the fyftems of difoent people on tranf*
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126 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [BookV.
Ten feet are caft oflf with the flough, and the limbs of the new creature are flill
fliapclcfs. Thefe are gradually formed, and attain their due proportion : but
the creature awakes not till he is complete ; when he burfts into light, and the
finifliing aft proceeds rapidly. In a few minutes the tender wings become fix
limes as large as they were under the flieli of death : they are endowed with
clafticity, and adorned with all the fplendid hues, that can be produced beneath
this fun : they waft the creature as it were on the breath of zephyr. His whole
ftrufture is altered : inftead of the coarfe leaves, on which he was at firft formed
to feed, he drinks the neftareous juice of flowers from 'their golden cups. Even
his deftination is changed : inftead of obeying the gi'ofs appetite of hunger, he
is moved by the more refined paffion of love. Who would divine the future
butterfly in the figure of the caterpillar ? Who would perceive one and the
fame creature in both, unlefs taught by experience ? And fince both thefe
modes of exiftence arc but different ftages of the fame being upon one and the
fame earth, where the organic circle again begins in a fimilar manner ; wliat fine
forms muft reft on the bofom of Nature, where the organic circle is more ex-
tenfive, and the ftages, that falhion them, embrace more than one world! Hope,
then, fon of man, and foretel not : the prize is before thee ; exert thyfelf to ob-
tain it. Throw from thee what is unbefitting a man : fbrive after truth, good-
nefs, and godlike beauty : and thou canft not fail of attaining thy end.
Thus we are taught by Nature, in thefe analogies of changing creatures, that
pafs frcMB one ftate to another, why the fleep of death is admitted into her fyf-
tem. It is a kind lethargy, that locks up the fenfes, while the organic powers
are labouring to attain a new form. The creature itfelf, whether poflfefled of
more or lefsconfcioufnefs, is not ftrong enough to overfec or direÄ their efforts:
it flumbers, therefore, and awakes not, till it's form is completed. Death, then,
is the boon of a tender father fparing his child: it is a falutary opiate, during
the operation of which Nature colleäs her powers, and the fleeping patient is
xeftorcd to health«
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[ 127 3
CHAPTER VI.
Theprefent State of Man is probably the cotmeSiing Link of two Worlds.
!Ev£RT thing in Nature is connected : one (late pufhes forward and prepares
another. If then man be the laft and highefl: link, clofing the chain of terref-
trial organization» he muft begin the chsdn of a higher order of creatures as it's
lowed link» and is probably, therefore, the middle ring between two adjoining
fyflems of the creation. He caimot pafs into any other organization upon
Earth, without turning backwards, and wandering m a circle : for him to (land
ilill is impofBble; fince no living power in the dominions of the moil adtive
goodnefi is at reft : thus there muft be a ftep before him, dofe to him, yet as
exalted above him, as he is preeminent over the brute, to whom he is at the
(kme time nearly allied. This view of things, which is fupported l^ all the
laws of Nature, .alone gives us the key to the wonderful phenomenon of man,
and at the fame time to the ovXy fhilofophy of his hißory. For thus,
I. The Angular inconßßency of man's condition becomes clear. As an animal
be tends to the Earth, and is attached to it as his habitation : as a man he has
within him the feeds of immortality, which require to be planted in another foiL
As an animal he can fatisfy his wants i and men that are contented with this
feel themfclves fufficiently happy here below : but they who feek a nobler defti-
nation find every thing around them impcrfeft and incomplete ; what is moft
noble is never accomplifhed upon Earth, what is moft pure is feldom firm
and durable : this theatre is but a place of excrcife and trial for the powers of
our hearts and minds. The hiftory of the human fpecics, with what it has at-
tempted, and what has befallen it, the exertions it has made, and the revolu-
tions it has undergone,, fufficiently proves this. Now and then a philofopher,
a good man, arofe, and fcattered opinions, precepts, and adtions on the
flood of time : a few waves played in circles around them, but thefe the
ftream foon carried away and obliterated : the jewel of their noble purpofes
funk to the bottom. Fools overpowered the councils of the wife^ and
fpendthrifts inherited the treafures of wiftlom coUcftcd by their forefathers.
Far as the life of man here below is from being calculated for eternity ; equally
far is this inceflantly revolving fphere from being a repoCtory of permanent
works of art, a garden of never-fading plants, a feat to be eternally inhabited.
We come and go : every moment brings thoufands into the World, and takes
thoufands out of it. The Earth is an inn for travellers; a planet, on which
birds of paflage reft themfelves, and from which they haften away. The brute
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128 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V.
lives out his life-; and, if his years be too few to attain higher ends, his inmoll
purpofe is accompliftied : his capacities exift, and he is what he was intended to
be. Man alone is in Gontradi<äion with himfelf, and with the Earth : for, being
the moft perfeft of all creatures, his capacities are the fartheft from being per-
fefted, even when he attains the longeft term of life before he quits the World.
But the reafon is evident : his ftate, being the laft upon this Elarth, is the firft
in another fphere of exiftence, with refpcdl to which he appears here as a child
making his firft elTays. Thus he is the reprefentative of two worlds at once;
and hence the apparent duplicity of his eflcnce.
2. Thus it becomes clear» what part muft predominate in moft men- here be*
low. The greater part of man is of the animal kind : he has brought into the
World only a capacity for humanity, which muft be firft formed in him by dili-
gence and labour. In how few is it rightly formed ! and how flender and de-
licate is the divine plant even in the beft ! Tliroughout life the brute pre-
vails over the man, and moft permit it to fway them at pleafure. Thb in-
ceflantly drags man down, while the fpirit afcends, while the heart pants after
a freer fphere : and as the prefent appears more lively to a fenfual creature than
the remote, as the vifiblc operates upon him more powerfully than the invi-
fible ; it is not difficult to conjefture, which way the balance wrll incJine. Of
how little pure delight, of how little pure knowledge and virtue, is man capa-
ble ! And were he capable of more, to how little is he accuftomed ! The
nobleft compofitions here below are «debafed by inferiour propenfities, as the
voyage of life is perplexed by contrary winds ; and the creator, mercifully ftrift,
has mixed the two caufes of diforder together, that one might correal the other,
and that the germe of immortality might be xnore effe6tually foftered by tem-
pefts, tlian by gentle gales. A man who has experienced much has learned
much: the capelefs and indolent knows not what is within himj and ftill lefs
does he feel with confcious fatisfaöion how far bis powers extend. Thus life is
a conflidt, aad the garland of pure immortal humanity is with difficulty ob-
tained. The goal is before the runner : by him who fights for virtue, in death
the palm will be obtained.
3. Thus, if fuperiour creatures look down upon us, they may view us in the
fame light as we do the middle fpecieSy with which Nature makes a tranfition
from one element to another. The oftrich flaps his feeble wings to affift him-
felf in running, but they cannot enable him to fly : his heavy body confines him
to the ground. Yet the organizing parent has taken care of him, as well as of
every middle creature j for they are all perfeft in themfelves, and only appear
tlefe^ive to our eyes. It is the fame with man here below : his dcfefts arc per-
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Chap. VI.] Prefeia State of Man the comuBing Link of two Worlds. 129
plezing to an earthly mind ; but a fuperiour fpirit, that infpeds the internal
ftnifture, and fees more links of the chain, may indeed pity, but cannot defpifc
him. He perceives why man muft quit the World in fo many different dates,
young and old, wife and foolißi, grown gray in fecond childhood, or an embryo
yet unborn. Omnipotent goodnefs embraces madnefs and deformity, all the de-
grees of cultivation, and all the errours of man, and wants not balfams to heal
the wounds, that death alone could mitigate. Since probably the future ftate
fprings out of the prefent, as our organization from inferiour ones, it's bufinefs
is no doubt more clofely connefted with our exiftence here, than we imagine.
The garden above blooms only with plants, of which the feeds have been fown
here, and put forth their firft germes from a coarfer hufk. If, then, as we have
feen, fociality, friendihip, or adtive participation in the pains and pleafures of
others, be the principal end, to which humanity is direfted j this fined flower
of human life mud neceflarily there attain the vivifying form, the overfliadow-
ing height, for which our heart thirds in vain in any earthly fituation. Our bre-
thren above, therefore, affuredly love us with more warmth and purity of affec-
tion, than we can bear to them : for they fee our date more clearly, to them
the moment of time is no more, all difcrepancies are harmonized, and in us
they are probably educating, unfeen, partners of their happinefs, and compa-
nions of their labours. But one dep farther, and the oppreffed fpirit can breathe
more freely, the wounded heart recovers : they fee the paffenger approach it,
and day his Aiding feet with a power&l hand.
4. Since therefore we are of a middle fpecies between two orders, and in fomc
meafure partake of both, I cannot conceive, that the future date is fo remote
from the prefent, and (b incommunicable with it, as the animal part of man is
inclined to fuppofc : and indeed many deps and events in the hidory of the
human race are to me incomprehenfible, without the operation of fuperiour influx-
ence. For indance, that man (hould have brought himfelf into the road of im-
provement, and invented language and thd fird fcience, without a fuperiour
guidance, appears to me inexplicable j and the more fo, the longer he is fuppofed
to have remained in a rude animal date. A divine economy has certainly ruled over
the human fpecies from it's fird origin, and conducted him into his courfe the
readied way. But the more the human powers have been exercifed, the lefs did
they require this fuperiour aflSdance, or the lefs were they fulceptible of it j
though in later times the gteated events have arifen in theWorld from inexplicable
caufes, or have been accompanied with circumdances, which we cannot explain.
Even^difeafes have often been indruments of them.: for when an oi^an lofes it's
proportion to the red, and thus becomes ufelefs in the ordinary courfe of life, it
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i^ PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookV.
fecnis natural, that the reftlcfs internal power (hould bend itfelffomc other way,
and probably receive impreffions, of which a found oi^nization would be infuf-
ccptible, and which it would not require. Be this as it may, it is certainly a
friendly veil, that feparates this world from the next j and it is not without rea-
fon, that the grave of the dead is fo mute and ftill. Men in general are kept
throughout the whole courfe of their lives from impreffions, one of which would
break the whole chain of their ideas, and render it ufelefs in this world. Mao,
formed for freedom, was not intended to be the imitative ape of fuperiour beings;
but, even where he is led, to retain the happy opinion, that he afts of himfclf.
To preferve the quiet of his mind, and that noble pride, which fupports his
deftination, man was deprived of the fight of more exalted beings $ for proba-
bly an acquaintance with thefe would lead him to defpife himfelf. Man there-
fore was not to look into a future ftate, but merely to believe in it.
5. Thus much is certain, that there dwells an infinity in each of his
powers, which cannot be developed here, where it is repreflcd by other
powers, by animal fenfes and appetites, and lies bound as it were to the ftate of
terreftrial life. Particular inftances of memory, of imagination, nay of prophecy,
and prefenfion, have difcovered wonders of that hidden treafure, which repofes
in the human foul : and indeed the fenfes are not to be excluded from this ob-
fervation. That difeafes, and partial defefts, have been the principal occafions
of indicating this treafure, alters not the nature of the cafe j fmce this very dif-
proportion was requifite, to fet one of the weights at liberty, and difplay it's
power. The expreffion of Leibnitz, that the foul is a mirror of the univcrfc,
contains perhaps a more profound truth, than has ufually been educed from it ;
for the powers of an univerfe feem to lie concealed in her, and require only an
organization, or a feries of organizations, to fet them in action. Supreme
goodnefs wjU not refufe her this organization, but guides her like a child
in leading-ftrings, gradually to prepare her for the fiiUnefs of increafing enjoy-
ment, under a perfuafion that her powers and fenfes are felf-acquired. Even in
her prefent fetters, /pace and time are to her empty words : they meafure and
exprefs relations (Ä the body, but not of her internal capacity, which extends
beyond time and fpace, when it adts in perfeft internal quiet. Give thyfelf no
concern for the place and hour of thy future exiftence : the Sun, that enlightens
thy days, is neceffary to thee during thy abode and occupation upon Earth ;
and fo long it obfcures all the celeftial flars. When it fets, the univerfe will
appear in greater magnitude : the facred night, that once enveloped thee, and
in which thou wilt be enveloped again, covers thy Earth with ihade, and will
open to thee the fplendid volumes of immortality in Heaven. There are ha-
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Chap. VI.] Prefent State of Man the conne6ling Link of two fVorlds. 13 1
bitations, worlds, and fpaces, that bloom in unfading youth, though ages on
ages have rolled over them, and defy the changes of time and feafon : but every
thing that appears to our eyes decays, and periflies, and paffes away ; and all
the pride and happinefs of Earth are expofed to inevitable deftrudion.
This Earth will be no more, when thou thyfelf ftill art, and enjoyed God and
his creation, in other abodes, and differently organized. On it thou haft en-
joyed much good. On it thou haft attained an organization, in which thou
haft learned to look around and above thee as a child of Heaven. Endeavour,
therefore, to leave it contentedly, and blefs it as the field, where thou hall
Iported as a child of immortality, and as the fchool, where thou haft been brought
up, in joy, and in fonow, to manhood. Thou haft no farther claim on it j it has
no farther claim on thee : crowned with the cap of liberty, and girded with the
zone of Heaven, cheerfully fet thy foot forward.
As the flower ftands ereft, and clofes the realm of the fubterranean inani-
mate creation, to enjoy the commencement of life in the region of day ; fo is
man raifcd above all th© creatures, that are bowed down to the Earth. With
uplifted cy#, and outftretchcd hand, he ftands as a fon of the family, awaiting
his father's call.
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[ ^32 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK VI.
HITHERTO we have confidered the Earth as an abode of the human fpecies
in general ; and endeavoured to mark the rank, that man holds among
the living creatures, by which it is inhabited. Having thus formed an idea of
his general nature, let us proceed, to contemplate the various appearances he af-
fumes on this globular ftage.
But who will give us a clew to this labyrinth ? where are the footfteps, that we
may follow with fecurity ? At lead the deceitful robe of pretended omnifcience
(hall not arrogantly be affumed, to conceal the defefts, to which he who writes
the hiftory of man, and ftill more he who attempts a philofophy of that hiftory,
muft neceflarily be expofed ; for none, but the genius of mankind himfelf, can
take a complete view of the hiftory of the human fpecies. We will begin with
the varieties in the organization of different races, if for, no other reafon, at leaft
becaufe thefe varieties are aheady noticed in elementary treatifes on natural
hiftory.
CHAPTER I.
Organizntiott of the People that dweU near the North Pole.
No navigator has yet been able to fet his foot on the axis of our Earth *, and
draw from the north pole perhaps fome more accurate conclufions refpedting it's
general ftrufture ; though men have proceeded far beyond the habitable parts
of the Globe, and defcribed regions, that may be termed the cold and bare ice-
throne of Nature. Here may be feen wonders of the creation, incredible to an
* The hopes of oar countryman, Samuel Teems to have weakeocd the fuppoikion of it's
Engel, on this fubjeft, are well known ; and impraäicabilicy.
one of the lateft northern adventurers. Pages,
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Chap. L] Organization of People that dwell near the North Pole^ 133
inhabitant of the equator, thofe immenfe mafles of beautifully coloured rocks of
ice, thofe fplendid northern lights, aflonifiiing deceptions of the eye by means of
the air, and the frequently warm caverns of the earth notwithftanding the rigid
froft above *• The fteep broken rocks of naked granite appear to extend much
farther here, than they could toward the fouth pole ; and the greater part of the
habitable earth in genecd ftands on the northern hemifphere. And as the fea was
the firft abode of living creatures ; the northern ocean, with it's fwarms of in-
habitants, may (till be confidered as a womb of vitality, and it's (bores as the
margin, on which the organization of terreftrial creatures commenced in mofles,
inieAs, and worms. Waterfowl frequent the land, that yet fupports few birds
of it's own: aquatic animals and amphibia crawl on the ftrand, to bafk in the
beams of the Sun, which thefe coafts but feldom enjoy. The confines of the
living creation of the earth are difplayedas it were amid the utmoft fury of the
turbulent waves.
How has the organization of man preferved itfelf on thefe confines ! All
that the cold could eifeft upon him was, to comprefs his body in fome meafure,
and thus as it were contrad the circulation of his blood. The greenlander fel-
dom attains the height of five feet ; and the eikimaux, his brother, living farther
to the north, is flill (horter -f?. But as the vital power works from witjiin to with-
out, it has compenGited in warm and tough thicknefs, what it could not beftow
in aipiring height. His head is large in proportion to his body; his face broad
and fiat : for Nature, who produces beauty only when aAing with temperance,
and in a mean betwixt extremes, could not here round afoft oval; and flill lefs
could allow the ornament of the face, the beam of the balance, if I may ufe the
expreflion, the nofe, to projeft. As the cheeks occupy the chief breadth of the
vifage, the mouth is fmall and round : the hair is ftifF, for the fine penetrating
juices to form foft iilky hair are wanting : no mind beams from the eye. In like
manner the ftioulders grow broad, the limbs large, the body corpulent and fan-
guine : the hands and feet alone remain fmall and flender, like the buds and ex-
treme parts of the frame. As is the external form, fo are the irritability and the
economy of the fluids within. The blood circulates more (lowly, the heart
beats more languidly : hence the defire of the fexcs, the flimulus of which rifes
to fuch a height with the increa(rng warmth of other countries, is here more
faint. It awakens not till late ; the unmarried live chaftely : and the women
almofl require compuKion, to take upon them the troubles of a married life.
• Sec Phipps's Voyages, Cranz's Gt/ebuba f See Cranz, Ellis, Egede, Roger Curtis'«
VM GratntoMd, ' Hiftory of Greenland/ &c. Account of the Coaft of Labrador, &c.
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134 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVI.
They have but few children j whence they compare the amorous and prolific
europeans to dogs. In their connubial date, as in their general way of life, a
calm fobriety, a tenacious ftillnefs of the paffions, prevails. Infenfiblc of thofe
irritations, which a warmer climate and more volatile animal fpirits produce,
they live and die peaceable and patient, contented from indifference, and adivc
only from necefHty. The father educates his fon to that apathy, which he
cfteems the grand virtue and happinefs of life ; and the mother fuckles her in-
fant a long time, with all the profound tenacious affcftion of animal maternity.
What Nature has denied them in irritability and elafticity of fibre, (he has
given them in permanent indefatigable ftrength j and has clothed them with
that warming fatnefs, that abundance of blood, which render their very breath
fuffocatingly hot in clofe habitations.
No one, I think, can fail here to obferve the equal hand of the organizing
creator, who adts uniformly in all his works. If the human ftature be dimi-
niflied in thefe regions, vegetation is not lefs fluntcd : few trees grow, and thcfc
fmall; moffes and fhrubs creep on the ground. Froft contrafts even the rod
of iron -, and (hall it not (liorten the human fibre, even in defpite of it's inhe-
rent organic life .? It can only be comprcflTed, however, and circumfcribed as it
were within a narrower fphere : another analogy of effcfl: in every kind of orga-
nization. The extremities of the marine animals and other creatures of the
frigid zone are fmall and (lender : Nature has kept every thing as much as pof-
fible together in the region of internal warmth. The birds are fupplied with
thick plumage, the beafts with enveloping fat, as the men are with their warm
fanguineous cafes. Nature has alfo neceflfarily denied them in externals, and
indeed from one and the fame principle of all terreftrial organization, what is
unfuitable to this conftitution. Roots would be deftruftive to their bodies,
prone to internal putrefaftion; as the liquor of madnefs, brandy, which has been
introduced among them, has deftroyed many. Thefe accordingly the climate
refufes them : and on the other hand, notwithftanding their great love of repofc,
which their internal ftrufture promotes, it compels them, by the external cir-
cumftances of their barren abodes, to adivity and bodily exercife ; which arc
the groundwork of all their laws and inftitutions. The few plants, that grow
here, arc fuch as purify the blood, and are thus precifely adapted to their wants.
The atmofphere is in a high degree dephlogifticated *, fo that it refills putre-
fadtion even in dead bodies, and promotesjongcvity. Foifonous animals cannot
* See Wilfon't Obfervationi on tke Influence of Cliniate on Plants and Aninala^ and Cianz'a
history of Greenland^ vol. II.
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Chap. I.] Organization of People that dwell near the North Pole. 135
endure the dry cold : and the people are protefted againft troublefome infefts
by fmoke, by a long winter, and by their natural infenfibility. Thus does Na-
ture indemnify them, and aft harmonioufly in all her operations.
After dcfcribing this firft nation, it will not be neceflary to be equally mi-
nute, with regard to others that refemble it. The efltimaux of America are the
brethren of the greenlanders in figure, as well as in language and manners. But
as thefe poor wretches arc preffed upon as bearded ftrangers by the beardlefs
americans, their mode of life is in general more toilfome and precarious : nay,
fo hard is their fate, that in winter they are often obliged to fupport themfelves
in their caves by fucking their own blood *. Here, and in a few other parts of
the Earth, dire NecefTity fits on her loftieft throne, and compels man to lead al-
moft the life of a bear. Yet everywhere he ftill continues man : for, even in
what appear to be features of the greateft inhumanity among thefe people is hu-
manity vifible, when they are clofely examined. Nature thought proper, to try
what forced circumftances the human fpecies could endure, and it has flood
the teft.
The laplanders inhabit a comparatively mild climate, and they arc a
milder people -f. The fize of the human figure increafes: the flat ro-
tundity of the vifage diminilhes : the cheeks are lengthened : the eye is
dark gray : the ftraight black hair becomes carrotty : and the internal or-
ganization of the man expands with his external frame, as the bud that
blows beneath the beams of a more genial fun %, The mountain laplander
grazes his reindeer, which neither the eikimaux nor greenlander can do, and
obtains from them food and raiment, coverings for his houfe and his
bed, conveniencies and enjoyments i while the greenlander, dwelling on the
verge of the earth, is reduced to feek almoft every thing from the Tea. Thus
man acquires an animal for his friend and fervant, and hence learns arts, and a
more domeftic mode of life. It inures his foot to the chace, his arm to the
guidance of the rein, his mind to a tafte for acquifition and permanent property;
while at the fame time it cheriOies his love of liberty, and accuftoms his ear to
that timid watchfulnefs, which we obferve in many nations in a fimilar condition.
The laplander liftcns as fearfully as his beaft, and fets off at the flightefl noife :
he loves his way of life, and looks, like his reindeer, to the fummits of the moun-
* Sec Roger Cortis's Account of Labrador. garians and Laplanders are the fame/ Copeu-
t It is well known, that Sainovic found the hagen, 1770.
language of the laplanders to refemble the hua- J On the fubjea of the laplanders fee Hoech-
garian. See Sainovic Demnflrath Idioma Vn- ftrocni, Lcem, Kling lied t, Georgias Befchrtibung
garorum et Lapponum idem effe, * Sainovic's Dc- der Nationen des Ruffi/cben Reichs^ « Defcription
monftration, that the Languages of the Hun; of the Nations oftlie Ruffian Empire/ fcc.
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136 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
tains, lo fpy the returning Sun : he talks to his bcaft, and is underftood by him ;
he is careful of him as his wealth, and a member of his family. Thus with the
firft tameable animal, that Nature could beftow on this region, flie gave man a
guide to a more human mode of life.
Of the people that dwell by the Frozen Ocean, along the wide extent of the ruf-
fian empire, not to mention the many modern wellknown travels, in which the y
are defcribed, we have a colledtion of delineations, the infpe&ion of which fpeaks
more forcibly than any defcription *. Mixed and huddled together as many of
thefe people dwell, we perceive the mod different races brought under the fame
yoke of the northern form, and forged as it were into a chain of the north pole.
The famoiede has the round, broad, flat vifage, the ftraight black hair, the fquat
fanguineous body of the northern mould : but his lips are more full, his nofe
more broad and prominent, and his beard diminifhed ; and this we ihall find
continually decreafing along an immenfe traft of land to the eaftward. Thus
the famoiedes are as it were the negroes of the north : and the great irritability
of their nerves, the early puberty of the females, in the eleventh or twelfth year+,
nay, if the account be true, their black nipples, and fome other circumftanccs,
render them flill more fimilar to the negroes, notwithftanding the coldnefs of their
climate. Yet, in fpite of their warm and delicate conftitution, which they pro-
bably brought with them as a national charafter, and which it may be prefumed
even the climate itfelf could not fubdue, their form is on the whole that of the
north. The tungoojes J, who dwell farther to the fouth, begin to have fome re-
femblance to the mungalian ftem, from which however they are as different in
race and language, as the famoiedes and oftiacs are from the laplanders and green-
landers. Their bodies are better fhapcd and more (lender j their eyes fmall like
thofe of the mungals ; their lips thin ; their hair fofter : yet their faces retain
the flat northern form. Tt is the fame with the yakouts and yukagirians, who
appear to run into the tatarian form, as thofe into the mungalian ; nay, it is
the fame with the tatarian race itfelf. Near the Black Sea and the Cafpian, on
mounts Caucafus and Ural, confequently in the mofl; temperate climate in fome
meafure in the World, the tatarian form is blended with more beauty. The
body is flcnder and pliable : the head quits the heavy rotundity for a more ele-
• Sec Georgias Be/chreibung, tfr. * Defcnp- Emp., Pallas, the Travels of ihc elder Gtnelin,
don, &c.,' Peterfburg, 1776. &c. The moll remarkable ciicumilarxes rvlat-
f See Klingdedt's Memcires/ur Us Samohdes et ing to the different people have been extracted
fur Us Lappons, * Accounts of the Samoiedes and from Pallas's Travels and Georgi's Remarks,
Laplanders.' and publiflicd feparately, Merkiviinligknten tier
% For an account of all thefe people fee 'verjchiedenen Vulkir, Krarikf. and Leipfic,
Geurgi't Defcripc, of the Nat. of the Rufl*. 1773 — 7.
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Chap. I.] Organization of People that dwell near the Nmh Pole. 137
gant oval : the complexion is florid : the nofe projefts boldly and wellfliaped :
the eye is lively, the hair dark brown, the flep alert : the countenance pleafingly
modeft and timid. Thus the nearer we come to tlie regions where Nature is
moft profufe of life, the more exqulfite and better proportioned is the oi^niza-
tion of man. The more we proceed to the north again, or the farther into Kal-
muc Tatary, fo much more flat and barbarous we find the features, either after
the northern or kalmuc model. In this, however, much muft be attributed to
the way of life of a people, it*s defcent and intermixture with others, and the
qualities of the country it inhabits. The mountain tatars preferve their features
with more purity, than thofe that dwell in the plains : hordes that are near towns
and villages mix and foften down both their features and manners. The lefs a
nation is preflcd upon, the truer it muft remain to it's rude and fimple way of
life, and the more pure muft it preferve it's original form. As on this great
platform of Tatary, inclining as it does to the fea, fo many rovings and incur-
fions have taken place, which have operated more powerfully to mingle, than
mountains, deferts, and rivers could to feparate, the exceptions to the rule can-
not f^l to be obferved : but the rule is confirmed by thefe very exceptions, for
the northern, tatarian, and mungal forms divide the whole among them,
CHAPTER n.
Organization of the Nations on the afiatic Ridge of the Earth.
A s there arc many probabilities, that the firft abode of the human Ipecies was
on this ridge of the Earth, we might be inclined to feek on it the moft beautiful
race of men. But how greatly (hould we be deceived in our expeftation ! The
form of the kalmucs and mungals is well known. With a middling ftature,
they have at leaft remains of the flat vifage, the thin beard, and the brown com-
plexion, of the northern climate : but they are diftinguifhable by the inner
angle of the eye being acute, flefliy, and inclined obliquely to the nofe j by nar-
row, black, flightly arched eyebrows j a fmall, flat nofe, too broad at the upper
part ; large, prominent ears j the legs and thighs bowed j and ftrong white
teeth *, which, together with the reft of the features, appear to charaderize a
beaft of prey among men,
• Sec Pallas's SammlungeM ueber /lit Mangoli- Mueller's SammluHg «ur Ruß Gifih , « Colicc«-
/eben Valkerfcbafitn, ' Collcftions refpeoing the tions for a Hiftory of Ruffia/ Book IV, Eff. 4, ;
Mongal Nations/ Vol. I, p. 98, 171, 5:c. ; Schlcezer's Extraö from Schober's Mm«ra^//Ä
Georgias Bifebreib, Vol. IV, Petersburg, 1780; Rußco-Aßatha, ' Memoirs of Afiatic Ruffia,' in
Schniilcher's Account of the Ajuc Kalmucs in the fame Colledlions, Book VII, Efif. i.; Sec,
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13« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book V J.
Whence proceeds this form ? Their bow-legs originate from their way of life.
From their childhood they Aide along upon their legs, or cling to the back of
a horfe: their lives are fpent between fitting and riding j and to the only
pofition, that gives the human foot it's ftraight fine form, that of walking, they
are ftrangers^ except for a few fteps. And to their way of life may not more of
their figure be traced ? Are not the prominent brutal ear, that is ever liftening,
the fmall, acute eye, that perceives the leaft duft or fmoke at the grcateft dif-
tance, the white, projedling, bone-gnawing tooth, the thick neck, and the back-
ward reclining pofition of the head on it, become fubftantial features, and
charadteriftics of their mode of living ? If we add to this, that» as Pallas (ays,
their children, even to the age of ten, frequently have deformed puffed up
faces, and are of a cacochymic afpeft, till, as they grow up, they become
better (haped : if we confider, that extenfive trafts of their country are ftran-
gers to rain, have little water, or at leaft none that is pure, and that thus firom
their infancy they fcarcely know what it is to bathe : if we refledt on the fait
lakes and marfhes, and the faline nature of the foil where they dwell, the alka«-
line favour of which they relifh in their food, and even in the ddugesof tea,
with which they daily enfeeble their digeftive faculty : if to thcfe we add the
elevation of the country they inhabit, the thinner air, dry winds, alkaline efflu-
via, and long winters fpent in the fmoke of their huts, and with fnow continu-
ally before their eyes : is it not probable, that their figure originated from
thefe caufes fome thoufands of years ago, when many of them perhaps ope-
rated ftill more forcibly, and thus gradually became their hereditary nature ?
Nothing invigorates our bodies more, and contributes more to their growth and
firmnefs, than wafhing and bathing in water ; particularly if to thefe be added
walking, running, wreftling, and other bodily cxercifes. Nothing has a greater
tendency to debilitate them, than drinking warm liquors j and thefe they gulp
down in immoderate quantities, feafoned too with corrugating alkaline falts.
Hence, as Pallas has already obferved, the feeble effeminate figures of the mun-
gals and burats, five or fix of whom, with their utmoft exertions, cannot do what
a fingle ruffian can perform : hence the extreme lightncfs of their bodies, with
which on their little horfcs they feem to fly, or ikim along the furface of the
ground ; hence, laftly, the cacochymic habit tranfmitted to their children.
Even fome of the neighbouring tatar races are born with features of the mungal
form, which difappear as they grow up : and this renders it more probable, that
fome of the caufes are dependent on the climate, which are more or lefs en-
grafted into the frame of the people by their mode of life and defcent, and ren-
dered hereditary. When ruffians or tatars intermix with the mungals, hand-
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Chap. IL] Organization of the Nations on theafiatic Ridge of the Earth. 139
fome children are produced, being of delicate and wellproportioned (hapes, but
according to the niungal ftandard *. Here alfo Nature remains true to herfclf
in their organization : a race of nomades, beneath this (ky, on this ridge of the
Globe, and with fuch modes of living, muft be fuch air)» vultures.
And traces of their form fpread far around : for whither have not thefe h'mh
of prey extended their flight ? More than once have their conquering pinions
fped over one quarter of the Globe. Accordingly the mungals have eftablirtied
thcmfelves in various countries of Afia, and improved their form by the features
of other nations. Nay thefe warlike expeditions were preceded by more ancient
emigrations from this early peopled ridge of the Earth into many adjacent lands.
Hence, it is probable, the oriental part of the Globe as far as Kamtfchatka, as
well as throughout Tilget and the peninfula beyond the Ganges, previoufly bore
marks of the mungal form. Let us take a view of this region, in which much
that is Angular appears.
Moft of the refinements of the chinefe with regard to their fhape bear the
mungal ftamp. We have obferved the milhapen feet and ears of the mungals ;
and probably a fimilar defeft of form, aided by falfe tafte, gave occafion to that
unnatural confinement of the foot, and that frightful diflortion of the ears, com«
mon to many nations in this region. People were afhamed of their form, and
wiOied to alter it ; but hit upon parts, which yielding to change, at length ren-
dered their difgufting beauties hereditary. As far as the great difference of their
provinces and mode of life will permit, the chinefe difplay evident marks of the
oriental form, which is moft ftriking to the eye only on the mungalian heights.
Climate has merely reduced the broad face, little black eyes, ftump nofe, and
thin beaixl, to a fofter rounder form j and the tafte of the chinefe feems to be as
much a confequence of illconftrufted organs, as defpotifm is of their form of go-
vernment, and barbarifm of their philofophy. The japanefe, a people of chinefe
tuition, but probably of mungal origin -f , are almoft univerfally illmade, with
thick heads, fmall eyes, ftump nofes, flat cheeks, fcarcely any beard, and ge-
nerally bandylegged. Their form of government and philofophy abound with
violent rcftriftions, fuited only to their own country. A third fpccies of de-
fpotifm prevails in Tibet s the religion of which country extends far into the fa-
vage deferts.
• PalUs in the Sammt, xur Ge/cb. der MtM^ tion of Travels,* Vol. II, p. 595; Charlevoix.
gtL Faltt, ' Colleaiont for the Hiilory of the On the cliinefe fee Olave Toree's Rn/e nach Sw
Mangal Nations,' Travels Vol. I, p. 304^!!, &c. rate und China, • Travels to Surat and China/
t Jllg. SammL dtr Rei/en» • General CoUec p. 68 ; Jlig, Rei/.Vo ,VUp.i 30.
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I40 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
The oriental form * ftretches down with the mountains through the penin-
fula beyond the Ganges, the people probably extending themfelves along the
courfe of the hills. The natives of AfTam, bordering upon Tatary, are re-
markable, if we may truft the accounts of travellers -f-, for fwelled throats
and flat nofes, particularly towards the north. The rude ornaments affixed
to their lengthened ears, their indelicacy in refpeft to food, and want of cloth-
ing in fuch a temperate climate, denote a favage uncultivated people. The
arracanefe, with broad noftrils, flat foreheads, little eyes, and ears flretched
down to their (houlders, difplay the fame deformity of the oriental r^ons J.
The barmas in Ava-and Pegu are as inveterate enemies to the flighted appear-
ance of beard, as the tibetians and other nations higher up : they will not fuflFer
more bountiful Nature to remove their tatarian beardlefTnefs §. It is the fame»
only with fome differences according to the people and climate, even in the
iflands that are more to the fouth.
To the north there is no change, even to the koriacs and kamtichadales on
the fhores of the eaflern world.. The lai^age of the latter flill bears fome ne-
femblance to that of the chinefe mungals, though, as they are yet unacquainted
with the ufe of iron, they muft have feparated from thefe people long ago. Nei-
ther does their form belie their country ||. Their hair is black, their fauces broad
and flat, their nofe and eyes deep funk; and we fhall find their chaiader,
apparently incongruous with this cold inhofpitable climate, not imfuitabie to it.
Laflly, the koriacs, the tfhoutfliies, the kuriles, and the iflanders fiuther to the
eaft f , appear to me to be gradual tranfitions from the mungal to the ameri-
can form : and if we could obtain an acquaintance with the north weflern end of
America, which remains for the mofl part unknown to us» and with the interiour
parts of Jedfo and the extenfive region above New Mexico, of which we know
as little as of the heart of Africa, I am of opinion, we fhould find evident gra-
dations loiing themfelves in each other, according to the remacks in Cook's laft
voyage **.
So
* The more ancient accounts defcribe the % JUg, Reif, B. X, p. 67, from Ovington.
tibetiant as deformed. See Allg, Reifin, Book. § See Marfden's Hiftory of Samatra, p. 62,
VI I> p. 38a. According to the more modern Jllg. Rgi/, Vol. II, p. 467. &c.
(Pallas's NorJ, Beitr. Book IV, p. 280) they are || Allg. Reif. Vol. XX. p. 289, from SteUer.
become lefs fo, to which the ficuation of their ^ See Georgias S^^. t^r. Vol.III.
country appears favourable. Probably they are •* SeeEiiis's Account of Cook's laft Voyage^
a rode approach to the hinduftanic form. p. 1 14; Tagilmcb dir Eutdtckuugs niß, • Joomal of
f See JUg.Reifin, Book X, p. 557» from a Voyage of Difcovery tranflated by Poifter/
Tavcf nier. P- 23 U with which may be oompared the oMer
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Ch at. II.] Organization of the Nations on tie afiatic Ridge of the Earth. 141
So wide is the extent of the partly disfigured, but every where more or
Icfs beardlefs, oriental form : and the various manners and languages of the
fcveral nations teftify, that they are not the defcendants of one people. What
then is the caufe of it ? What for inftance has urged fo many nations to quar-
rel with the beardy or to ftretch the ears, or to bore the nofc and lips ? In my
opinion an original deformity muft have given rife to it, which afterwards
claimed the afliftance of favage art, and at length became an ancient cuftom
tranfmitted from father to fon. The degeneracy of brutes difplays itfelf in
the hair and ears, before it attacks the form : it next defcends to the feet, as
in the face it firft attacks it's extremity, the profile. When the genealogy of
the nations, the ftate and qualities of this extenfive country, and more efpecially
the variations in the internal phyfiology of thefe people, are more thoroughly
invefligated ; we (hall not &il to obtain new ideas on the fubjeä. And will
not PallaSy /killed in fcience and acquainted with variom nations, be the firft to
give us z,fpicilegium anthropologicum ?
CHAPTER IIL
Organization of the Region of wellf armed Nations.
Embosomed in alpine heights lies the kingdom of Cafhmire, like a
hidden paradife. It's fertile and pleafant hills are furrounded with mountains
afcending ftill higher and higher, till the fummits of the laft, covered with
eternal fnow, are loft in the clouds. Here pellucid ftrcams and rivulets flow :
the earth is adorned with falubrious herbs and fruits : gardens and iflands are
clad in refireftiing green : flocks and herds are fpread over one univerfal pafture :
and no venomous animal, or wild beaft, annoys this Eden. Thefe may be fitly
named the mountains of innocence, as Bernier fays, which flow with milk and
honey ; and the race of men, that dwells there, is not unworthy of the place.
The cafhmirians are deemed the moft witty and ingenious people of India,
equally capable of excelling in poetry and fcience, in arts and manufadtures j the
men finely formed, and the women often models of l^eauty *.
How happy might Hinduftan have been, if the hands of men had not com-
bined to defolate the garden of nature, and to deprefs the moft innocent of hu-
man beings by tyranny and fuperftition ! The hindoos are the gentleft race
accounts of thetflandi between Aiia and America. Itr'^s Rujftfchtn Sammlungeny ' Raffian CoIleQions';
See neut Nachricht von ätn muintdickttn Inftlmy X^ Beitragen xur Vetlker.wul L^ndtrkundt,* 'EX'
New Account of the lately difcovered Iftands/ fays on Countries and Nations'; &c.
Hamb.andLeipf. 1776; the accounts in Pallas's * JtVg, Reif, Vol. II, p. 116, 117, from
Nardi/cben Beiträtgen, ' Northern Memoirs'; MueJ" Bernier,
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142 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
of mankind. They intentionally injure nothing that breathes; they rcfpcft
every thing that has life ; and fupport themfclves by the- moft innocent food,
milk, rice, and the nutritious plants and fruits, that their country affords. In
öiape, fays a modern traveller *, they are ftraight, flcnder, and elegant ; their
limbs are well proportioned ; their fingers long, and endued with great accuracy
of feeling i their countenances open and benign : the features of the females dif-
play the moft delicate lineaments of beauty ; thofe of the males, manly tender-
nefs. Their gait, and their whole carriage, are in the highcft degree graceful
and attraftive. The legs and thighs, which in all the northeaftcrn countries arc
mifhapen, or fhortened like thofe of apes, are lengthened here, and bear the
ftamp of germinating human beauty. Even the mungal form, intermingled with
this race, is loft in noble benignity. And the original difpofition of their
. mind is confonant to the frame of their body. So indeed is their manner of
life, when confidered free from thö yoke of flavery or fuperftition. Temperance
and quiet, gentle feelings and peaceful meditation, are confpicuous in their la-
bours and enjoyments, their morals and mythology, their arts, and even their pa-
tience under the fevereft tyranny. Happy lambs ! why could not Nature feed
you carelefs and undifturbed on your native plains !
The ancient pcrfians were ugly mountaineers, as we fee from their remains,
the gaurs -f . But as fcarcely any country in Afia is fo much expofed to irrup-
tions as Perfia, and as it lies immediately beneath nations of wellformed people,
a compound has refulted, which in the nobler Perfians combines beauty and
worth. On one hand lies Circaffia, the parent of beauty : on the other fide of
the Cafpian fea dwell tatarian races, which have already improved their form in
this happy climate, and have fpread themfelves in great numbers to the fouth.
On the right is Hinduftan, and the perfian blood has been improved by
maidens purchafed in this country and in Circaffia. Their minds have moulded
themfelves to this man-ennobling fpot : for the quick and penetrating under-
ftanding, the fertile and lively imagination of the Perfians, with their fupple,
courteous manners, their propenfity to idlenefs, pomp, and pleafure, nay their
difpofition to romantic love, are perhaps the chief qualities, that promote an
equilibrium of the paffions and features. Inftead of thofe barbarous embellilh-
ments, with which deformed nations have increafed while they ftrove to hide
* Mackintofh's Travels, Vol. I, p. 321. fians, which may be compared with thofe of the
f Chardin'f Travels in Perfia, Vol. Ill, blacks immediately following, n' 89, 90, the
Chap. XI, and following. In Le Bran* s yojagej uncii'ilized famoiedes, chap. 2, n' 7, 8, the
#» Pir/tt ' Travels in Perfia,' Vol I, Chap. 42, wild fouthern negroes, n. 197, and the genile
n' 86«— 83^ we have a Sdclincation of the per- beninians, n. 109.
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Chap. III.] Organizaiion of the Region ofweßfomtd Nations^ 145
their bodily defefts, more agreeable cuftoms have here been adopted, which
heightened the beauty of the form. Want of water compels the mungal to be
uncleanly : the effeminate bindoo bathes : the voluptuous perfian anoints him^»
felf. The mungal fits on his heels, when he does not beftride his horfe : the
gentle hindoo lolls at bis eafe : the romantic perfian divides his time between
games and amufements. The perfian tinges his eyebrows j he invefls himfelf
in a garment» that improves the growth. Beautiful form ! fweet equilibrium of
paffions and mental powers ! why could ye not diffufe yourielves throughout the
Globe!
We have already obferved, that feme tatarian races originally belonged to the
well formed nations of the Earth, and have degenerated only in the northern
coimtries, or in the dcferts. The finer forms appear on each fide of the Ca(pian fca.
The ufbeck women are defcribed as ftout, wellmade, and agreeable * : they ac-
company their hulbands to battle : their eyes» fays the defcription, are large,
black, and lively: their hair is black and fine: the men are of a dignified figure,
that commands refpedt. Similar commendations are beftowed on the bokha-
rians : and the beauty of the circaflians, their dark filken eyebrows, black fpark-
ling eyes, fmooth foreheads, little mouths, and round chins, are known and
valued far and wide \. We may fuppofe, that the tongue of the balance of the
human form ftood here precifely in the middle, while the fcales extended
eaft and weft to Hinduftan and Greece. Fortunately for us, Europe lay at no
great diftance firom this centre of beautiful forms ; and many nations, that peo*
pled thi& quarter of the Globe, either inhabited or flowly traverfed the regions be«
tween the Cafpian and Euxine feas. At lead we are thus no antipodes to the
land of beauty.
Ail the nations who have made irruptions into this region of fine forms, and
tarried in it, have foftened their features. The turksy originally a hideous race,
improved their appearance, and rendered themfelves more agreeable, when hand-
fonier nations became fervants to them, as conquerors of extenfive territories in
this neighbourhood. To this probably the commandments of the Koran have
contributed, by which they were enjoined ablution, cleanlinefs, and temperance,
while they were indulged in voluptuous cafe and love. The hebrcwsy whofe an-
ceftors likewife came from the heights of Afia, and led a wandering life, fometime
in thirfty Egypt, fometime in the deferts of Arabia, ßill bear the ftamp of tlie
afiatic form, even in their prefent long and wide difperfion ; though in their nar-
♦ ^//^. Äf// Vol. VII, p. 316.— 18. au Levant, «Travels in the Levant/ Vol. .1,
f See feme delineations by Le BruUyFcja^ii Chap. 10, n' 34—37.
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144 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVI.
row country, and under the oppreffive yoke of the law, they could never attain
that pitch of beauty, for which more liberty of adlion, and voluptuoufnefs of
life, are requifite. Neither do the hardy arabs conftitute an exception : for
though Nature has formed their peninfula more for a land of liberty than a land
of beauty, and neither a defert nor a wandering life can pofSbly be the beft nurfc
of fine forms; yet are thefe brave and hardy people at the fame time wellmade*
Their extenfive influence on three quarters of the globe we fliall hereafter have
occafion to obferve.
Laftly the perfeft human form found a fite on the coaft of the Mediterra-
nean -f , where it was capable of uniting with the intelledt, and difplaying all the
charms of terreftrial and celeftial beauty to the mind', as well as to the eye : this
was triple Greece, in Afia and the iflands, in Greece proper, and on the (hores
farther to the weft. Gentle zephyrs fanned the tree, gradually tranfplanted
from the heights of Afia, and breathed life into every part. Time and circum-
ftances affifted in exalting it*s juices, and crowning it with that perfedtion, which
ftill excites the admiration of every one in the models of grecian art and wifdom.
Here figures were conceived and executed, which no admirer of circafiian beauty,
no Indian or cafhmirian artift, could have invented. The human form afcended
Olympus, and clothed itfelf in divine beauty.
I fliall not wander farther into Europe. It fo abounds in forms and mixtures,
it has changed nature in fo many ways by cultivation and art, that I know not
how to make any general remarks on it's wellformed intermingled nations. It
will be better to take a retrofpeftive glance from the fliores of that quarter of
the Globe that we have traverfed, and, after an obfervation or two, proceed to
footy Africa.
In the firfl: place it is obvious to every one, that the region of the moft: per-
feftly formed people is a middle region of the Earth, lying, as beauty itfelf, be-
tween two extremes. It feels not the comprefling cold of Samoieda, or the dry-
ing faline winds of Mungalia : on the other hand it is equally a ftranger to the
burning heat of the fandy african deferts, and the wet and violent changes of the
american climate. It lies neither on the utmoft height of the equator, nor on
the declivity of the polar region : but on one fide it is defended by the lofty
walls of the tatarian and mungal mountains, on the other it is cooled by the
fea-brceze. It's feafons change with regularity, yet without that violence, which
• See delineations of them in Nicbuhr, vol. ft, 7, n« 1 7 — 20 ; Choifcul Gouffier's V»yagt Pit»
and Le Bron's Travels in the Levant, n* 90, tore/que, ' Pidurefque Tour;' Sec The re-
9 1 . mains of ancient grecian art exceed all thefe re-
t See Le Bran's Trav. in the Levant, chap, preienutions.
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Chap. III.] Organization of the Region of wellformed Nations, 145
prevails under the equinoAial : and as Hippocrates formerly obferved, that a
mild regularity of the feafons appeared to have great influence in attemperating
the paflions, it has no lefs on the ideas and impreflions of our minds. The pre-
dat<)ry turcoman, who roams the deferts or the mountains, retains a hideous
countenance even in the fineft climate : when he fits down in peace, and di-
vides his life between fofter enjoyments, and occupations that conneft him with
more civilized nations, his features, as well as manners, in time aflimilate with
theirs. The beauty of the Earth is calculated only for peaceful enjoyment : by
means of this alone does it impart itfelf to man, and become incorporated with
him.
h\ the fecond place, it was of no fmall advantage to the human fpecies, not
only to have commenced it's exiftence in this region of pcrfeft forms, but to
Jiave derived it's principal cultivation thence. As the deity could not make the
whole Earth the feat of beauteoufnefs, he permitted mankind to enter it at leaft
through the gate of beauty, and have it's features imprinted on them for a con-
iiderable time before they repaired to other countries. It was one and the fame
principle of Nature, which caufed thofe nations, that excelled in form, to ope-
rate with moft beneficence and aftivity upon others : for (he gave them that
quicknefs and elafticity of mind, adapted equally to form the body, and to a<5t
thus beneficently upon other nations. The tungoofe and eikimaux fit eternally
in their holes, and give themfelves no concern about other nations, either as
friends or enemies. The negro has invented nothing for the european : he has
never once conceived the defign of improving or of conquering Europe. From
the region of wellformed people we have derived our religion, our arts, our
fciences j the whole frame of our cultivation and humanity, be it much or little.
In this traft has been invented, imagined, and executed, at leaft in it's rudi-
ments, every thing that can form and improve man. The hiftory of man's cul-
tivation will inconteftibly prove this j and in my opinion our own experience
(hows it. We northern inhabitants of Europe fhould have been ftill barbarians,
had not the kind breath of fate wafted us at leaft fome flowers from thofe
climes, to impregnate our wild bloflToms, and thus in time ennoble our ftock.
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146 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boot \^.
CHAPTER IV.
Organization of the People of Africa.
I T is but juft, when we proceed to the country of the blacks, tliat une hj
afide our proud prejudices, and confider the organization of this quarter of the
Globe with as much impartiality, as if there were no other. Since whitenefe is
a mark of degeneracy in many animals near the pole, the negro has as much
tight to term his favage robbers albinoes and white devils, degenerated through
the weaknefs of nature, as we have to deem him the emblem of evil, and a de-
fcendant of Ham, branded by his fiither*s curie. I, might he fay, I, the black,
am the original man. I have taken the deeped draughts from the fburce of
life, the Sun : on me, and on every thing around me, it has adted with the
greateft energy and vivacity. Behold my country : how fertile in fruits, how
rich in gold ! Behold the height of my trees ! the ftrength of my animals !
Here each element fwarms with hfe, and I am the centre of this vital aftion.
Thus might the negro fay ; let us then enter the country appropriate to him
with modefty.
On the very ifthmus, that joins Africa to Afia, we meet with a fingular people,
the egyptians. Large, ftrong, corpulent, for the Nile beftows on them fatneis,
bigboned, and of a yellow brown complexion ; they are at the fame time healthy
and prolific, temperate and longlived. Though now indolent, they were once
diligent and laborious. A people of fuch bone, and fuch a frame *, could alone
have produced the arts and eftablißiments, that we admire among the ancient
egyptians ; to which a people of a finer mould could not eafily have applied
themfelves.
Of the inhabitants of Nubia, and the interiour regions of Africa beyond it,
we yet know but little. If however we may truft the preliminary communica-
tions of Bruce -)*, no negro race dwells upon the whole of thb elevated region»
• See the ftatoes of their ancient artifts, their and poiTefled of fome tafte : Rtlatim hifimifu»
mammies, and the paintings on the cafes of the d*Ahxffima, * Hiftorical Account of Abyffinia,*
mummies. p. 85. As all our account» of this coontryar»
t BufFon's St^plemeni ^ PHißoire Natureilt, ancient and doubtful, the publication of Bruce'a
« Supp. to Nat. Hid./ 410» Vol. IV, p. 495. travels, if he did yifit AbyiEnia, is much to be
Lobo fays, at leaft, that the blacks there arc nei- wilhed ••
ther ugly nor ftupid, but ingenious» delicate»
• He undoubtedly did, ai we have fofficient teftimoDy of that AA» and his tntelt, coataiaini mach onioiia taÜBr-
■•tion, have at length been publi&cd. T.
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Chap. IV.] Orgamzation of the People of Africa. 147
they being confined to the eaft and weft coafts of this quarter of the Globe,
where the land is lower, and the heat more intenfe. Even under the equator,
he fays, on thefe temperate and rainy heights, we find none but white or yellow
brown complexions. Remarkable as this faft would be in explaining the origin
ol the negro blacknefs ; yet the figure of the nations in thefe parts, which is
more to our purpofe, difplays a gradual declenfion to the negro form. We know«
that the abyfiinians were originally of arabian defcent, and both nations have
been frequently and long connefted : yet, if we may judge from the reprefenta^
tions of Ludolf * and others, how much harfher features do we meet with here,
than among the arabs, and more diftant afiatics ! They approach thofe of the
negro, thougji yet remotely ; and the great diveriity of the country, with it's
lofty mountains and pleafant plains, the variations of the climate, in heat and
cold, funfliine and ftorms, with a chain of other caufes, feem fufficient to ac-
count for thefe harfti compounded features. In a diverfified part of the World
a diverfified race of men muft occur, whofe charadter appears to confift in great
fenfuality, long duration, and an approach to the extreme in figure, which brings
them nearer to the brute. The government of the abyffinians, and their ftatc
of civilization, are conformable to their figure, and the nature of their country ^
a wild mixture of beathenifm and chriftianity, of carelefs freedom and favage
tyranny.
On the other fide of Africa in like manner we know too little of the berbers^
or brebersy to be able to form any judgment of them. Their refidence on mount
Atlas, and their hardy and aftive way of life, have preferved to them that well-
proportioned, light, and flexible make, by which they are diftingui(hable from
the arabs ^. Confequently they are as little of the negro race, as the moors,
who are deicended firom the arabs, but intermixed with other nations. A mo-
dern obferver fays J, they arc handfome people, with delicate features, oval faces,
fine large fparkling eyes, longi(h nofes, neither broad nor flat, and beautiful
black hair fligbtly falling in ringlets ; fo that they are of the afiatic form, though
in the midft of Africa.
The negro race properly begins with the rivers Gambia and Senegal^ yet here
with gradual tranfitions §. The jalofsy or wulufsy have neither the flat nofes nor
thick lips of the common negroes. Both they, and the fmaller, more adive
• LadolTt Hiß, jEtüpp,, « Hiftory of Etbi- X Schott'» Acconnt of the State of Senegtl«
«puu' in the Beitrag, s. f^plk, tttul Undtrkimilft Vol. I«
t Hoft*! N^kriehttm v§w Mmnio, * Account p. 47.
ef Morocco,' p. 141, compared with 132 and §See Schott's Account of Senegal, }i»50«
foUowiDg. ^ilg- Riiu Vol. 315.
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148 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
/ou/UsyVfhOy according to (bme accounts, live under the happieft regulations, and
(pend their time in mirth and dancing, are models of beauty, compared with the
manJingoeSy and the negroes that live farther to the fouth ; their limbs being
well made, their hair ileek and but little woolly, and their countenances open and
inclined to oval. Thus the thick lips and fiat nofes of the negro form, which
fpreads far down through innumerable -varieties of little nations in Guinea,
Loango, Congo, and Angola, commence not till we crofs the Senegal. In Congo
and Angola, for inftance, the black fkin afifumes an olive hue, the crifped hair b
reddi(h, the irides of the eyes are green, the lips are lefs thick, and the ftature
djminilhes. In Zanguebar, on the oppofite coaft of Africa, we again find the
fame olive hue, but in men of a large ftature, and better proportioned limbs.
Laftly the hottentots and cafires are retrogradations from the negro form to
another. Their nofe begins to lofe fomewhat of it's depreffed fiatnefs, their
lips of their fwelling prominence : their hair is a mean between the wool of the
negro and the hair of other nations : their complexion is of a yellow brown :
their fize is that of europeans in general, only they have fmaller hands and feet *.
Did we know the numerous nations, that dwell beyond thefe arid regions, in
the interiour country, as far as Abyfiinia, and among whom, from many indica-
tions on their borders, we may expeft to find more fertility, beauty, ftrengtb,
arts, and civilization, we might fill up the (hades of the human pidture in this
quarter of the Globe, and fliould probably find not a (ingle break.
But how deficient are we in authentic information refpefting this country !
We barely know it's coaftsj and are in many parts acquainted wiih thefe no
farther than our cannons reach. No modem european has traveried the inte-
riour of Africa, which the arabian caravans firequently do-f^ ; and what we know
of it is either from tales of the blacks, or pretty ancient accounts of lucky or un-
fortunate adventurers \. Even the nations, that we might know as things are, the
eye of the european feems to behold with too tyrannical indifference, to attempt
to inveftigate the variation of national form in wretched black flaves. Men
handle them like cattle i and, when they buy them, diftingui(h them by the
marks of their teeth. A fingle moravian mi(fionary § has tranfmitted us from
another quarter of the Globe more accurate difcriminations of the negroes, than
• Sparmann's Travels. Mtnfiben, * Geographical HiAory of Man/ book
f Schott's Account of Senegal, p. 49f 50. llf, p. 104, and fbtlowing.
% ZtmmermanD*! comparifon of the known iOldcndorp'tMißaii^tyehicitnu/Se, Timms,
and unknown parts» an tffAy replete with learn- • Hiftory of tho MtiiioB co St. Thooiaa,^ p, 970
ing and found j udgment» in che Gt^, Ge/tb. dtt and following.
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Chap. IV.] Organization of the People of Africa. 1 49
all the voyagers, that have infcfted the african Ihorcs. How fortunate would it
have been for the knowledge of nature» and of man, had a company of travellers,
endued with the penetration of Forfter, the patience of Sparmann, and the fcience
of both, vifited this undifcovered country ! The accounts, that are given of the
cannibal jagas and anficans, are certainly exaggerated, when they are extended
to all the interiour nations of Africa. The jagas appear to be a mixed, preda-
tory people, a fort of artificial nation, compofed of the outcafts of feveral, living
by plunder, and at length becoming inured to favage and barbarous pradtices *.
The anficans are mountaineers; probably the mungals and calmucs of this
country. But how many happy and peaceful nations may dwell at the feet of
the Mountains of the Moon ! Europeans are unworthy to behold their happi-
nefs ; for they have unpardonably finned, and dill continue to fin, againfl: this
quarter of the Globe. The peaceably trading arabs travcrfe the country, and
have planted colonies far within it.
But I forget, that I had to fpeak of the form of the negroes, as of an organi-
zation of the human fpecies ; and it would be well, if natural philofophy had
applied it's attention to all the varieties of our fpecies, as much as to this. The
following are fome of the refults of it's obfervations.
1. The black colour of the negro has nothing in it more wonderful than the
white, brown, yellow, or reddifli, of other nations. Neither the blood, the brain,
nor the feminal fluid of the negro is black, but the reticular membrane beneath
the cuticle, which is common to all, and even in us, at leaft in fome parts, and
under certain circumftances, is more or lefs coloured. Camper has demonftnted
this +j and according to him we all have the capacity of becoming negroes.
Even amid the frofts of Samoieda we have noticed the fable mark in the female
breafl : the germe of the negro blacknefs could not be farther extended in that
climate.
2. All depends therefore on the caufes, that were capable of unfolding it
here : and analogy mßrufts us, that fun and air muft have had great (hare in it.
For what makes us brown ? What makes the difference between the two fexes
in almoft every countrj^ ? What has rendered the defcendants of the portu-
guefe, after refidmg Ibme centuries in Airica, fo fimilar in colour to the ne-
groes ? Nay, what fo forcibly difcriminatcF the negro races in Africa itfelf ? The
climate, confidered in the moft extenfive fignification of the word, fo as to in-
clude the manner of life, and kind of food. The blackeft negroes live precifely
♦ Sec Proyart's Hiftory of Loango. Cacongo, ipcÄmg the jagaa.
Arc, to the get man tranfljticn of which, Leipfic, f Sec Camper's KUint Scbriften, « Tiaö«/
1770, is added an able cölleftion of accounts re- Vol. I, p. 24 and following.
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150 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VI.
in that region, where the eaft wind, blowing wholly over the land, brings the
moft intenfe heat : where the heat is diminiflied, or cooled by the fea-brceze,
the black is foftened into yellow. The cool heights are inhabited by white, or
whitifh people : while in the clofe lower regions the oil, that occafions the black
appearance beneath the cuticle, is rendered more aduft by the heat of the Sun.
Now if we refledV, that thefe blacks have redded for ages in this quarter of the
World, and completely naturalized themfclves to it by their mode of life : if we
confider the feveral caufcs, that now operate mprc feebly, but which in earlier
periods, when all the elements were in their primitive rude force, muft have
aftcd with greater power : and if we take into the account, that fo many thou-
fands of years muft have brought about a complete revolution as it were of the
wheel of contingencies, which at one period or another turns up every thing that
can take place upon this Earth : we (hall not wonder at the trifling circumftancc,
that the fltin of fome nations is black. Nature, in her progreffive fecret opera-
tions, has produced much greater changes than this.
3. And how did (he effeft this fmall change ? To me the thing (eems to
(peak for itfelf. It is an oil, that colours the reticular membrane. The fwcat
of the negroes, and even of europeans, in this country frequently has a yellow
colour. The fkin of the blacks is a thick foft velvet, not fo tenfe and dry as
that of the whites ; the heat of the Sun having drawn from their inner parts an
oil, which, afcending as near as it could to the furface, has foftened their cuticle,
and coloured the membrane beneath it. Moft of the difeafes of this country are
bilious i and if we read the defcriptions of them ♦, we (hall not wonder at the
yellow or black complexions of the inhabitants.
4. The woolly hair of the negro may be accounted for on fimilar principles.
As the hair is nourifhed only by the finer juices of the fkin, and is generated as
it were unnaturally in the fat, it becomes curled in proportion to the abundance
of nutriment it receives, and dies where this is deficient. Thus in the coarfer
organization of brutes, we find their wool converted into rough hair, in countries
uncongenial to their nature, where the juices, that flow into it, are incapable of
elaboration. The finer organization of man on the contrary, intended for all
climates, is capable of converting the hair into wool, when the oil, that moiftcns
the (kin, is fuperabundant.
5. But the peculiar formation of the members of the human body fays more
than all thefe : and this appears to me explicable in the a(Tican organization.
According to various phyfiological obfervations, the lips, breafts, and private
* See Scbott's Treatifc on the Synochiu ttmbiUoTa.
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Crap. IV.] Or^imizaiion of the People ofAfrlciL 151
ports, are proportionate to each other : and as Nature, agreeably to the fimple
principle of her plaftic art, muft have conferred on thefe people, to whom fhe
was obliged to deny nobler gifts, an ampler meafure of fenfual enjoyment, this
could not but have appeared to the phyfiologift. According to the rules of
phyfiognomy, thick lips are held to indicate a fenfual difpofition ; as thin lips,
dilplaying a flender rofy line, are deemed fymptoms of a chatte and delicate
tafte ; not to mention other circumftances. What wonder then, that in
a nation, for whom the fenfual appetite is the height of happinefs, external
marks of it (hould appear ? A negro child is bom white : the ikin round the
nails, the nipples, and the private parts, firft become coloured ; and the fame
confent of parts in the difpofition to colour is obfervable in other nations. A
hundred children are a trifle to a negro ; and an old man, who had not above
feventy, lamented his fate with tears.
6. With this oles^inous organization to fenfual pleafure, the profile, and the
whole frame of the body, muft alter. The projeftion of. the mouth would ren-
der the nofe (hort and fmall, the forehead would incline backwards, zfiA the
face would have at a diftance the refemblance of that of an ape. Conformably
to this would be the pofition of the neck, the tranficion to the occiput, and
the elaftic ftrufture of the whole body, which is formed, even to the nofe and
ikin, for fenfual animal enjoyment *. Since in this quarter of the Globe, as the
native land of the folar heat, the loftieft and moft fucculent trees arife, herds of
the laigeft, ftrongeft, and moft aftive animals are generated, and vaft mul-
titudes of apes in particular fport, fo that air and water, the lea and the fands,
fwarmwith life and fertility ; organizing human nature could not fail to follow,
with reipedt to it's animal part, this general fimple principle of the plaftic powers.
That finer intelleft, which tl)e creature, whofe breaft fwells with boiling paffions
beneath this burning fun, muft neceflarily be refufed, was countervailed by a
ftnifture altogether incompatible with it. Since then a nobler boon could
not be conferred on the negro in fuch a climate, let us pity, but not de-
fpifc him ; and honour that parent, who knows how to compenfate, wliile (he
deprives. He fpends his life void of care in a country, which yields him food
with unbounded liberality. His limber body moves in the water, as if it had
been formed for that element : he runs and climbs, as if each were his fport :
and not lefs ftrong and healthy than light and adtive, his diiferent conftitution
fupports aU the accidents and difeafes of his climate, under which fo many
* Camper hai Ibown, in the Hurlem Tranf- don nearer together than the european, and in
aAioBf, that the negro has the centres of mo- confe^oence poflefliBs greater elaAicity of body.
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ij2 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VI.
europeans iink. What to him are the tormenting fen&tions of fuperiourjojrs,
for which he was not formed ? The materials were not wanting : but Nature
took him in hand, and formed of him what was moft fit for his countrj% and the
happinefs of his life. Either no Africa (hould have been created, or it was re-
quifitCy that negroes (hould be made to inhabit Africa.
CHAPTER V.
Organization of Man in the Ißands of the torrid Zone.
Nothing is more difScult, than to charafterife under certain leading features
the countries fcattered over the bofom of the ocean. For as they are remote
from each other, and have been peopled for the moft part by different emi-
grators from near or diftant regions, and at an earlier or later period ; they ex-
hibit to the mind as motley a pidture in the hiftory of nations, as they do to
the eye on a map. Yet even here the principal features never belie themfelves,
in what may be termed natural organization.
I. On moft of the afiatic iflands we meet with a kind of negro race, which
appears to conftitut^ the moft ancient inhabitants of the country *. Yet, ac-
cording to the difference of the land on which they live, thefe are more or left
fwarthy, with curied woolly hair : occafionally the thick lip, flat nofe, and white
teeth appear; and it is remarkable, that with thefe the negro temperament is found
united. The fame rude healthy flxength, the thoughtlefs difpofition, the noily
love of pleafure, which we obferve in the blacks of the continent, are difcovera-
ble in the negrilloesof the iflands: yet everywhere proportionate to their climate
and mode of living. Many of thefe art at the loweft ftage of cultivation, having
been confined to the mountains by later comers, who now occupy the fliores
and plains : and hence we have few certain and authentic accounts of them +.
Now whence comes this refemblance of the negro form on fuch remote
iflands ? Certainly not becaufe they were peopled in early periods by colonies
from Africa, but becaufe Nature works every where unifonnly. Thefe too are
fituatc in the regions of extreme heat, only cooled by the fea-breeze : why then,
fliould there not be negrilloes on the iflands, as there are negroes on the conti-
nent } efpecially as, being the firft inhabitants of the iflands, they muft bear the
• Sprcngcl's Ge/cbicbie der FhlUppintn, «Hif- til's Travch in Ebcling's CoUcaion, Vol. IV,
toiy of the Philippine Iflands;' Forfter's Ac- p. 70.
count of Borneo and other iflands in the Bütra- \ See Keifem urn die Welt, ' Voyages round
gem %ur Valker mmd Länderkunde, VoL II, p. 57, the World,' Vol. I, p. 554. Leipfic, 1775.
•«37» &c. ; Mz» Keif, Vol II, p, 393 ; Lc Gen-
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Chap. V.] Organizathn cf Man in the IflanJs of the torrid Zone. 153
ftrongeft marks of the plaftic Nature of the climate. Among thefe muft be
reckoned the igolots of the Philippine iflands, and fimilar blacks on moft of the
reft ; as likewife the (avages on the weftern coaft of New Holland, whom Dam-
pier defcribes as the moft wretched of mankind, and who appear to be the
ioweft clafs of this race, inhabiting one of the moft barren trafts on the Globe.
2. In later times other people have fettled on thefe iflands, whofe form is Icfs
ftriking. Such, according to Forfter *, are the biajoos of Borneo, the alfoories
in fome of the Moluccas, the fubadoes of Mindanao, and the inhabitants of the
Ladrone iflands, the Carolines, and others farther fouth in the Pacific ocean.
They are faid to have great refemblance in langu2^, complexion, form, and
manners : their hair is long and fleek, and we know from late voyagers to what
a degree of attraäive beauty this race has been capable of arriving in Otaheite,
and fome iflands near it. Yet this beauty is altogether fenfual, and the laft
impreflion of the plaftic climate is obfervable in the flattifli nofes of the ota-
lieiteans.
3. The malays, arabs, chinefe, japanefe, and fome others, are ftill later comers
on many of thefe iflands, and bear ftill clearer traces of their defcent. In (hort,
this group of iflands may be confidered as a repofitory of forms, varioufly mo-
<lified according to the charafter they bore, the land they inhabit, the time of
their refidence, and the way of life they have enjoyed; fo that -the moft ftriking
c3ifFercnces are frequently found bordering, on each other. The new-hoUanders
*hat Dampier faw, and the inhabitants of MallicoUo, appear to be of the coarfeft
form ; and the people of the New-Hebrides, New-Caledonia, New-Zealand,
&c., rife gradually above thefe. The Ulyflfes of thefe regions. Reinhold Forfter -f-,
lias given us fuch a learned and intelligent account of the fpecies and varieties
-of the human race in them, that we cannot but wifli we had fimilar materials
for t^ philofophico'phyfical geography oi othtx parts of the World, as foundations
-for a hiftory of man. I now turn to the laft and moft diflicult quarter of the
Clobe.
• Beitragt Kur ValktrkundtiV QiV II, p. 238. die IVelt^ « Remarks on his Voyage round the
f Former's Bemtrhngen auf feiner Reife um World,' Berlin, 1783, $6.
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154 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VI.
CHAPTER vr.
Organization of the Americans,
No one Is ignorant, that America extends through all the zones, and expe-
riences not only the extremes of heat and cold, but the mod fudden changes of
weather; while at the fame time it's furfacc exhibits the loftieft and fieepcft
mountains, with the moft level and extenfive plains. It is a matter of no lefs no-
toriety-, that this longextended quarter of the Globe, deeply indented with large
bays on the eaflern fide, has a chain of mountains ftretching from north to fouth,
whence both it's climate and living produdions have little fimilitudc with thofe
of the old world. Hence our attention is drawn to it's people, as to the prar-
geny of an oppofite hemifphcre.
On the other hand, it rcfults from the very fituation of America, that this ex*
tcnfivc region, fo widely fcparated from the reft of the worid, could not have
been peopled from many different points. The winds and feas cut off it's con-
nexion with Europe, Africa, and the fouthern parts of Afia ; and there is no
fhort paffagc to it from the old world, except on it's north-weftern fide. This,
in a certain degree, diminiflics the expeftation, we may have been led to form, of
a great diverfity in it : for if the majority of it*s inhabitants, and they by whom
it was firft peopled, came from one and the fame region, and gradually fpread
themfelves, till at length they filled the whole country, probably with little in-
termixture of others ; thfc make and difix>fition of it's natives would difplay a
certain uniformity, to which there would be few exceptions, in fpite of the cli-
mate. And this the various accounts we have of North and South America
confirm : for they tell us, that, notwithftanding the great variety of climates, and
of nations who frequently endeavour to diftinguifli themfelves from others by
arts, that do the greateft violence to nature, the figure of the people in general
hears a ftamp of uniformity, not to be found even in Negroland. In America,
therefore, the organization of the inhabitants is in fome degree a fimpler pro-
blem, than in any other more compound region ; and for it's folution it will be
moft advantageous, to begin with that fide,, where it is probable the paffage into
it took place.
The nations of America vifited by Cook * were from the middle fize to üx.
feet high. Their complexion inclined to copper-colour, the form of their faces
• W. Ellis's Account of Cook's third Voyage, p. 1 14 and following.
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Chap. VI.] Organization of the Ammcam. 15 <
to fquarc; their cheek-bones were foniewhat prominent, and they had little beard.
Their hair was long and black, their limbs were ftrongly made, and only their
feet misfliapen. He who is well acquainted with the nations in the eaft of Afia,
and the neighbouring iflands, will obferve the gradual tranfition, line for line.
I do not draw this conclufion from a fingle nation, for probably many, even of
various races, paffed over : but they were orientals, as appears from their figure,
and even their deformities ; and efpecially from their ornaments and manners.
Were the whole north-weftern coaft of America, in which we now know but two
or three ports, thoroughly explored ; and had we as accurate delineations of the
inhabitants, as Cook, for example, has given us of the chie& of Oonalaika and
other places ; much more light would be thrown upon the fubjeft. It would
appear, whether the chinefe and japanefe have alfo pafTed over lower down on
the cxtenfive coaft, of which we yet know fo little, and what traditions of a ci-
vilis^ bearded nation are to be found there. The fpaniards have indeed the
bcft opportunity of making thefe difcoveries from Mexico, if they fliared with
the two greateft maritime nations of Europe, the engliüi and frencb, the ho-
nourable fpirit of advancing fcience. In the mean time may Laxmann's vifit to
the northern coaft, and the attempts of the englifli from Canada, procure us
fome new and valuable information.
It is fingular, that fo many accounts agree in reprefenting the weftern nations
of North America as the moft civilized. The aßnipoels are famed for their fize,
ftrength, and agility ; the chrißinaux for their livelinefs and loquacity *. We have
little information, however, refpeAing thefe nations, and the fliawanefe in ge-
neral, that can be deemed much better than fable : our more authentic accounts
b^n properly with the naudoweflces. With thefe, tlie chippewaws, and the
winnobages. Carver «f- has made us acquainted ; with the cherokees, chickafaws,
and muikcgoes, Adair % ; with the Five Nations^ as they are called, Colden,
Rogers, and Timberlake ; with thofe to the north, the french miffionaries : and,
amid all their varieties, who is not imprefled with the idea of one prevailing
form, of one predominant charafter ? This confifts in that firm health and per-
manent ftrength, that proud favage love of liberty and war, which their mode
of life and domeftic economy, their education and government, their cuftoms
and occupations both in peace and war, equally tend to promote. A charadlcr,
that ftands alone on the Globe, both in it's vices, and in it's virtues.
If we aik, how this charafter was acquired \ much, in my opinion, may be
• Allg, Reif, Vol. XVI, p. 646.
f Carver's Travels through the interior Parts of North America, 1776—8.
I Adair's HiAory of the American Indians.
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156 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
explained from their gradual migration from the north rfAßa, and the general
conftitution of their new abode. They came over hardy, uncultivated nations,
falhioned amid mountains and ftorms. When they had pafled the coafls, and
found a finer, extenfive, open country before them, muft not their charader in
time have moulded itfelf to the land ? Between large lakes and rivers, in thcfe
woods, in thcfe favannahs, other nations were formed, than on thofe raw and
cold lands declining to the fca. As the lakes, mountains, and rivers divided, (c>
did the nations : tribe waged inveterate war with tribe, and hence that hoftile
hatred of each to other became a predominant feature of nations, in other rc-
fpefts the moft equanimous. Hence they became warlike, and addi£ted them-
felves to every local circumflance, that could increafe their magnanimity. Their
priefts arc the ftiamans, or magicians, of the north of A(ia ; their religion being
the fame, only dreffcd in an american garb. Their healthy air, the verdure of
their fields and woods, and the invigorating waters of their lakes and rivers, have
infufed into them the fpirit of liberty and property in this land. By what herds
of wretched ruffians have all the fiberian nations, even to Kamtfchatka, fufFered
themfelves to be fubjugated ! while thefe firmer favages have given ground^ it
is true, but never bowed their necks to the yoke.
As their character may be traced to this origin, fo nny their fingular tafte in
ornamenting themfelves. All the nations of America eradicate the beard : con-
fcquently they muft have migrated from fomc region, where little beard was ge-
nerated, the cuftom naturally fpringing from a wifli to refemble their anceftors.
The caftern part of Afia is fuch a region. Thus, in a climate capable of fup-
plying this part with more nutritious juices, they held it in averfion : and this
averfion they ftill retain ; whence they begin it*s extirpation, as foon as it ap-
pears. The people in the north of Afia have round heads, while more to the caft
their figure inclines to a fquare: what then could be more natural, than the wiöv
of the american nations, not to degenerate from the refemblancc of their fore-
fathers, and to mould their faces on this principle ? Probably they dreaded the
ibftcr oval as an efFeminate form, and thus endeavoured by force of art, to retain
the comprefled warlike countenances of their progenitors. The northern round-
heads formed the head to a fphere, in conformity to the figure of the highcft
north : others formed it fquare, or comprefled the head between the (boulders,
that the new climate mig-ht effeä; no change cither m their countenance or fta-
ture. No country, except the eaft of Afia, affords examples of fuch violent at-
tempts at embellifliment ; and, as we have feen, probably for the fame purpofe,
to preferve the appearance of tlie race in diftant regions : it is even likely, that
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Chap. VI.] Orgamzatm of the Americam* 157
they brought with them into America the tafte for this mode of beautifying
themfelves.
Laftly, the red coppercolour of the americans is leaft of all capable of mif-
leading us : for already in the eaft of Afia the complexion had become of a
brown red, and it is probable, that the air of a different quarter of the Globe, the
praftice of ihundtion, and other circumftances, had heightened the colour, I
much lefs wonder, that the negro is black, and the american red, after having
dwelt for fome thoulands of years in fuch different climates, than I (hould if all
the inhabitants of the Globe were fair, or brown. Even in the more coarlely or-
ganized brutes do we not fee the folid parts themfelves alter with change of cli-
mate ? But which is mod wonderful, an alteration of the limbs of the body in
their general proportion and economy, or a little more or lefs colour in the
membrane beneath the fkin ?
After this introduftion, let us accompany the people of America downwards,
and obferve how the uniformity of their primitive character has been variouily
modified, yet never loft.
The moft northern americans are defcribed as fmall, yet ftrong : the interiour
parts are inhabited by the ftouteft and handfomeft tribes : they that are farther
to the fouth, in the flat country of Florida, are inferiour in ftrength and courage.
It is remarkable, fays George Forfter *, that amid all the charaftcriftic varieties
of the feveral north-amcricans delineated in Cook's work, one general caft of
countenance prevails through the whole, which was perfe&ly familiar to me, and
which, if my memory do not deceive me, I obferved even in the pelherays of
Tierra del Fuego.
Of New Mexico we know little. The fpaniards found the inhabitants of this
country well-clothed, induftrious, and neat, their lands cultivated with care, and
their towns built with ftone. Poor nation ! what are you now, not having de-
fended yourfelf like /w bravos gentes [the brave fellows] on the mountains ? The
apaches proved themfelves a brave aftive people, whom the fpaniards were un-
able to fubdue : and how advantageoufly does Pages \ fpeak of the chadaws,
yataches, and tekaws !
Mexico is now a melancholy pifture of what it was under it*s own kings*
Scarcely a tenth part of it's inhabitants remain % : and how is their charadter
* Gifting, Magaxin, 1783, p. pz^ of Mexico,' from which there is an extras in the
f Page» Foyagt auionr du Moiuli^ « Voyage Gottingen Review, Gat, gtUhrttn Jnzeigen, for
Toand the World/ Parii, 1783, p. 17, 18, 26, I78i,fupplem. 35, 36; and there is another
40> 5 s, 54, &c. more copious in the Kiel Magazme> Vol. IL
I Stiria Mtica del Mißk«, * Ancient Hiflodr/ N* I, p. 38, ftc.
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,58 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
dianged by the mod unjuft of oppreffions ! I do not believe there exifts on the
face of the Earth a more deep, inveterate hatred, than the fuffcring american che-
riflics againft his oppreflbrs, the fpaniards : for however highly Pages, for ex-
ample *, extols the greater mildnefs the fpaniards now difplay towards their
flaves, he cannot avoid noticing in other places the dejeftion of thefe poor crca-
t\]res, galled by the yoke, and the barbarity excrcifed towards thofe, who have
maintained their freedom. The mexicans are defcribed as of a deep olive com-
plexion, with pleafmg countenances, and wellmade ; their eyes large, lively, and
fparkling j their fcnfes quick ; and their limbs aftive : but their fpirits are de-
prefled by llavery.
In the centre of America, where every thing finks beneath humid heat, and
curopeans lead the moft miferable lives, the pliable nature of the amcricans
maintains itfelf uninjured. Wafer -f, who, having efcaped from the buccaneers,
rcfided fome time among the favages on the continent, relates the friendly re-
ception they gave him, and defcribes their perfons and way of life in the fol-
lowing words. * The men were from five to fix feet in height, big boned, broad
chefted, and well-proportioned. There was not a cripple or deformed perfon
to be feen among them. Their joints are fupple, they are aftive, and they run
with great fpeed. Their eyes are gray and lively, their faces round, their lips
thin, mouth fmall, and chin wellformed. Their hair is long and black, and they
take great delight in combing it frequently. Their teeth are white and regular :
and they paint and ornament themfelves like the reft of the indians.' Are thefe
the people, that are rcprefented to us as an enervated, unfiniflied race of men !
thefe, who inhabit the moft debilitating region of the ifthmus !
Fermin, an accurate examiner of nature, defcribes the Indians of Surinam as
well-made, and as cleanly as any people on the face of the Earth J. * As foon
as they rife in the morning, they bathe, and their wives anoint them with oil,
to prefervc their fkin, and defend them from the ftings of the mofchettoes. They
are of a cinnamon colour, inclining to red 5 though they are as fair as we when
born. A crippled or ricketty perfon is not to be found among them. Their
long coal-black hair does not turn gray till extreme old age. They have black
eyes, (harp vifages, little or no beard, plucking it out by the roots as faft as it
appears. Their fine white teeth remain found to the laft : and even the wo-
men, delicate as they appear to be, enjoy almoft uninterrupted health.* Let a
* P. 83 and following. % Fennin's Be/cA, vm SuriMom, «Deicrip-
t ^% Reif" Vol. XY, p. 263. and following, tion of Surinam/ Vol. I, p. 39, 4 t.
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Ch A p . VI.] Organization of the Americans. i jj
man read Bancroft's defcription ♦ of the brave caribs, indolent worrows, ferious
accawaws, focial arrowauks, &c., and, I am pcrfuadcd, he will find the notion of
the feeble frame and worthlefs charafter of thefc indians, even in the moft fultry
climate in the World, a prejudice no longer tenable.
If we proceed fouthwards to the innumerable tribes of Brafil, wl.at a number
of nations, languages, and charafters (hail we find ! yet defcnbed by ancient
and modern travellers as greatly fimilar +. * Their hair never grows gray,' fays
'Ljtryy * they are ever gay and adive, as their fields are continually green.* The
brave tapinamboes, to avoid the portuguefe yoke, withdrew into the unex*
plored and impenetrable woods, as other warlike nations have done. Such of
more docile difpofitions, as the miffionarics of Paraguay contrived to fubjeft,
have degenerated almoft to childiflmefs : but this was a natural confequence,
and neither they, nor their valiant neighbours, can on this account be deemed
the dr^ of mankind J.
But we are approaching the throne of Nature, and of the moft barbarous ty-
ranny, the kingdom of Peru, rich in mines and mifery. Here the poor indians
arc moft feverely oppreffed ; and their oppreflbrs are monks, or europeans more
effeminate than women. All the powers of thefe tender children of Nature,
who once lived fo happily under their incas, are now compreiied into the fingle
faculty of fuffering and forbearing with filent hatred. • At firft fight,' fays
Pinto §, governor of Brafil, * a fouth-american appears gentle and harmlefs : but
on a clofer infpedtion, fomething lavage, miftruftful, gloomy, and repining, is
difcoverable in his countenance.' May not all this be accounted for by the
fate of the people ? They were gentle and harmlefs, when you vifited them ;
and the unfaftiioned wildnefs of a welldifpofed race Ihould have received
that improvement, of which it was capable. What otherwife can you now ex-
peö, than that, gloomy and miftruftful, they fliould cherifh in their hearts the
moft profound, ineradicable difcontent ? They are bruifed worms, that appeal
hateful to our eyes, in confequence of our having crufhed them with our feet.
The negro flave in Peru is a lordly creature, compared with the oppreffed
•wretches, to whom the country of right belongs.
Yet it is not wholly taken from them, for happily the Cordilleras, and the
waftes of Chili, are there, to beftow freedom on many valiant nations. Such,
• Bancrofi's Efläy on the Natural Hißory tory of the Abiponians,' Vienna, 1783. Sec the
of Guiana. defcription of fever al nations in father Gumilla's
f Acunha, Guinilla, Lery, Marggraf, Con- OrwHoiUuflradot^c,
damine, &c. S Robcrtfon's HiJlory of America, Vol. I, p.
t Dobritzhoffcr's Qefcb, dir Abi^ner, »Hif« 537.
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i6o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Bcok VI.
for inftance, arc the unconqucrcd maloches, puelches, and araucoans, and the
patagonian tehuelhets, or the gigantic fouthern people, fix feet high, big, and
ftrong. * Their perfons are not difagre^able ; they have round faces, fomewhat
flat ; lively eyes ; white teeth ; and long black hair. I faw fome,' fays Com-
nierfon ', * with long but not very thick whiikers. Their fkin is copper-
coloured, as in mod of the americans. They wander over the extenfive plains
of South America, with their wives and children, conftantly on horfeback, in
purfuit of game.' Falkener and Vidaure + have given us the beft accounts of
tliefe, and beyond them nothing remains but the cold barren verge of the land,
Tierra del Fuego, and in it the pefherays, probably the loweft fpeciesof man J,
Diminutive, ugly, and of an infupportablc fmell, they feed on (hell-fifh, wrap
themfelves in a feal's ikin, freeze all the year in difmal winter, and, though they
have plenty of wood, are deftitute of folid houfes, and ftrangers to the warmth
of fire. Happy is it, that compaflionate Nature has fuffered the land toward the
fouth pole to terminate here : had it extended farther, what wretched femblances
of man muft there have flumbered out their lives in benumbing froft !
Thefe are fome of the principal features of the nations of America; and what
upon the whole may be inferred from them ?
In the firft place, that we fliould fpeak generally of the nations of a quarter
of the Globe, which extends through all tlie different zones, as feldom as pof-
fible. Whoever fays America is warm, healthy, wet, low, and fertile, fays truly:
and if another (hould fay the reverfe, he would equally fpeak truth, that is, with
refpeft to different feafons and places. So is it with the american nations, for
there are men of a whole hemilphere, and of each of the zones. At one extre-
mity and the other are dwarfs, and clofe by the dwarfs arc giants : in the midflr
inhabit nations of intermediate and more or lefs wellformed proportions, gentle
and warlike, indolent and aftive, of all the various ways of life, and of every call
of charaAer.
Secondly : there is nothing to prevent this branchy flock of mankind, with
all it's numerous ramifications, from having arifen from one finglc root, and con*
fequently difplaying an uniformity in it's produce. And this is meant, when
people fpeak of the prevailing figure and features of the Americans §. UUoa
^ Journal encyclep, \yy 2, Several teftlmo- daure's hiftory of the kingdom of Chili» in Ebe«
nies arc brought together in Zimmermann's ling's Collcftion of Voyages, Vol. IV, p. 108.
Gefib, tier MenfMeit, « Hiftory of Man,' Vol. I, % See Forfter's Voyagt, Vol. II; Cavcndifli|
p. 59, and Robcrtfon's Hiftory of America, Vol. Bougainville; &c«
I, p. 540. S Robertfon's Hiflory of America, Vol. X, p.
\ Falkener's Defcription of Patagonia : VI- 559.
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C H A p . VI.] Organization of the Americans. 1 6 1
obferved particularly in the central parts the fmall forehead covered with hair,
little eyes, thin hooked nofe, broad face, large ears, handfome legs, diminutive
feet, and corpulent bodies : and thefe charafteriftics extend beyond Mexico.
Pinto adds, that the nofe is fomewhat flat ; the eyes black or hazel, and piercing
though fmall ; the ears remote from the face * : all which are obfervable in the
delineations of very diftant people. This general phyfiognomy, in various ftates
of improvement according to the country and climate, appears as a family like-
nefs, diflinguiftiable in thofe that differ mod, and denotes a pretty uniform
origin. Had people from all quarters of the Globe arrived in America at very
diftant periods, the diverfity of the human fpecies muft have been greater here,
whether they had intermixed with each other or not. Blue eyes and light hair
are not to be found throughout the whole country ; the blue-eyed ceflares of
Chili, and the acanfas of Florida, have difappeared in modern times.
Thirdly : if, after this form, we were to afcribe to the amerlcans a leading
or common charafter, it would be goodnefs of heart, and infantile innocence :
a charadter, which their ancient eftablilhments, their habits, their few arts, and
above all their conduft towards the europeans, confirm. Sprung from a favagc
land, and unfupported by any affiftance from the civilized world, all the progrefs
they made was their own ; and in their feeble beginnings of cultivation they ex-
hibit a very inftruftivc piÄurc of man.
C H A P T E R Vn.
Conclufion,
O FOR a magic wand, which, at once transforming into faithful piftures all
the vague verbal defcriptions -f that have hitherto been given, might pre-
sent man with a gallery of figures of his fellow- creatures ! But we are yet far
from the accomplifliment of fuch an anthropological wilh. For centuries the
Earth has been traverfed with the fword and the crofs, by toymen and brandy-
merchants : no one thought of the peaceful pencil, and it has fcarcely entered
the minds of any of the numerous herd of travellers, that words do not paint
forms, particularly that, which is of all the moft delicate, moft various, and ever
changing. For a long time men fought after the wonderful and dealt in fiftion :
then they occafionally idealized, even when they gave figures; without confider-
• Robcrtfon's Hillory of America, Vol. I, natural HiAory, Vol. VI, Mart. ed. ; and in BIu-
p. 537. menbach's learned work de Varlttau Generis bu-
t He who ^ifhcs for farther accounts of tnani, * On the 'v'arictics of the human Species.*
{>ardcubf features will find them in Buffbn's
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i6a PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VL
ing, that no faithful zoologift idealizes, when he delineates foreigh aninials. And
is human nature alone unworthy of that accurate attention, with which plants
and animals are drawn ? Yet, as in modern days the laudable fpirit of ob(er-
vation has begun to be excited towards the human fpecies» and we have delinea-
tions of fome nations, though but few, with which thofe of de Bry, or le Brun,
not to mention the mif&onaries, will bear no comparifon * ; it would be a va-
luable prefent to the world, if any one, who has fufBcient abilities, would colled:
fuch fcattered delineations of the varieties of our fpecies as are authentic, and
thus lay the foundations of a perfpicuous mtural philofophy and phyfiogwmy of
mnn. Art could not eafily be employed in a more philofophical purfuit : and
an anthropologic map of the Earth, iimilar to the zool<^cal one iketched by
Zimmermann, in which nothing (hould be noticed except real varieties of nun,
but thefe in all their appearances and relations, would crown the philanthropic
work.
* Not that I imdenralne the attempts of tended o&interrnptedly to alt the regions oftlie
thefe gentlemen : bat to me le Bran's figures Globe. Niebahr, Parkinfon» Cook, Hoeft»
liavemuchofafrench air; andchofe of deBry, Georgi, Marion, and fome others, I reckon
which have been badly copied into molt fabfe- among thefe beginners : Cook's laft Voyage, if
qnent publications, do not appear to be authen- we may traft what Fame ikys of it's engravings,
tic Hodges, too, according to^Forfler, has commences a new and higher period, the conti-
idealized his otaheiteans f . Yet it is highly to nuation of which in other parts of the world I
be wiflied, that> after the commencements we ardently defire, and that they may be rendered
have, the accurate and natoral-hifloric manner of more general ntility and more extenfively
•f delineating the human fpecies may be ex* known.
f But ft'ill greater deviations may be Aifpeded» to have been committed by the artJft, who attended Cook*a
laft voyage. Either he, or the engraver, to whofe favourite tool the department of antardic forms was
cntrufted, feem« to have facrificed the realitlei before thiiir eyes, to a Caint leminiCceAce and ftale xepetiuon
of Cipriani-Beautjet. F.
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[ IH ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK VII.
TH E pifturc of nations hitherto fketched mufl. be confidcred only as the
for^round, fcrving as a bafis to farther obfervations : while it's groups
anfwer the purpofe of the temp/a of the augurs in the fleies, forming definite
fpaces for our contemplation, and aids to our memory. Let us fee what they
afford towards a philofophy of our fpecies.
CHAPTER I.
Notwitliflanding the Varieties of the human Form, there is but one and the fame
Species of Man throughout the Whole of our Earth.
No two leaves of any one tree in nature are to be found perfedkly alike ; and
ftill le6 do two human faces, or human frames, rcfemble each other. Of what
endlefs variety is our artful ftruAure fufceptible ! Our folids are decompofable
into fuch minute and multifarioufly interwoven fibres, as no eye can tracer and
thefe are conneAed by a gluten of fuch a delicate compofition, as the utmofl:
ftill is infufficient to analyfe. Yet thefe conftitute the lead part of us : they
are nothing more than the» containing veiTels and conduits of the variouily com-
pounded, highly animated fluid, exifting in much greater quantity, by means
of which we live and enjoy life. * No man,' fays Haller *, * is exadtly fimilar to
another in his internal ftrufture : the courfes of the nerves and bloodveflTels dif-
fer In millions and millions of cafes, fo that amid the variations of thefe delicate
parts, we are fcarcely able to difcover in what they agree.* But if the eyp of
the anatomift can perceive this infinite variety, how much greater muft that be,
which dwells in the invifible powers of fuch an artful organization ! fo that every
man is ultimately a world, in external appearance mdecd fimiiar to others, but
internally an individual being, with whom no other coincides.
• Preface to Buffbn'« Nat. Hift. Vol. III.
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i64 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book Vir.
Ancf fince man is no independent fubftance, but is conncfted with all the
elements of nature ; living by infpiration of the air, and deriving nutriment
from the moft oppofite produdions of the Earth, in his meats and drinks j con-
fuming fire, while he abforbs hght, and contaminates the air he breathes ; awake
or aflcep, in motion or at reft, contributing to the change of the univerfe ;
fliall not he alfo be changed by it ? It is far too little, to compare him to the
abforbing fponge, the fparkling tinder : he is a multitudinous harmony, a living
felf, on whom the harmony of all the powers that furround him operates.
The whole courfe of a man's Ufe is change : the different periods of his life aie
tales of transformation, and the whole fpccies is one continued metamorphofis.
Flowers drop and wither ; others fprout out and bud : the vaft tree bears at
once all the feafons on it's head. If, from a calculation of the infenfible per-
fpiration alone, a man of eighty have renovated his whole body at leaft four and
twenty times * ; who can trace the variations of matter and it's forms through
all the race of mank'md upon the Earth, amid all the caiafes of change; when
not one point on our complicated Globe, not one wave in the current of time,
refembles another ? A few centuries only have elapfed fince the inhabitants of
Germany were patagonians : but they are fo no longer, and the inhabitants of
it's future climates will not equal us. If now we go back to thofe times, when
every thing upon Earth was apparently fo different; the times for inftance,
when elephants lived in Siberia and North- America, and thofe large animals ex-
ifted, the bones of which are to be found on the Ohio ; if men then lived in
thofe regions, how different muft they have been from thofe, who now inhabit
them ! Thus the hiftory of man is ultimately a theatre of transformations,
which He alone can review, who animates all thefe figures, and feels and enjoys
in them all. He builds up and deftroys, improves and alters forms, while he
changes the World around them. The wanderer upon Earth, the tranficnt
ephemeron, can only admire the wonders of this great fpirit in a narrow circle,
enjoy the form that belongs to him in the general choir, adore, and difappcar
with this form. * I too was in* Arcadia :' is the monumental infcription of all
living beings in the ever-changing, ever-renewing creation.
As the liuman intcUeft, however, feeks unity in every kind of variety, and
the divine mind, it's prototype, has ftamped the moft innumerable multiplicity
upon the Earth with unity, we may venture from the vaft realm of change to
revert to the fimpleft pofition ; all mankind are only one and the fame /pedes. /
* According to Bernoulli: fee Haller's Phy- muhitude of obfervaüons on the changes of ha«
üolog. Vol. VI1J> L. 3o> where will be foaad a man life»
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Chap. I.] But one Species of Man throughout the Earth, 165
How many ancient fables of human monfters and prodigies have already dif-
appearcd before the light of hiftory ! and where tradition ftill repeats remnants
of thcfe, I am fully convinced, more accurate inquiry will explain them into
more beautiful truths. We are now acquainted with the ourang-outang, and
know, that he has no claim to fpeech, or to be confidered as man : and when we
have a more exafl: account of the ourang-kubub, and ourang-guhu, the tailed
favages of the woods in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Nicobar iflands will vanifli *.
The men with reverted feet in Malacca +, the probably ricketty nation of dwarfs
in Madagafcar,.the men habited like women in Florida, and fome others, deferve
fuch an inveftigation as has already Been bellowed on the albinocs, the dondoes,
the patagonians, and the aprons of the hottentot females J. Men, who fuccecd
in removing wants from the creation, falfehoods from our memory, and difgraces
firom our nature, arc to the realms of truth, what the heroes of mythology were
to the primitive world ; they leffcn the number of monfters on the Earth.
1 could wi(h, too, that the affinity of man to the ape had never been urged
fo far, as to overlook, while feeking a fcalc of Being, the aftual fteps and in-
tervals, without which no fcale can exift. What for example can the ricketty
ourang-outang explain in the figure of the kamtfchadale, the little pigmy
in the fizc of the grcenlander, or the pongo in the patagonian ? for all thefe
forms would have arifen from the nature of man, had there been no fuch
thing as an ape upon the Earth. And if men proceed ftill farther, and deduce
certain deformities of our fpecies from an intermixture with apes, the conjec-
ture, in my opinion, is not lefs improbable than degrading, Moft of thefe
apparent refemblances of the ape exift in countries where no apes are to be
found y as the reclining ikuUs of the calmucs and mallicoUefe, the prominent ears
of the pevas and amicuans, the fmall hands of fome favages in Carolina, and other
inftances, teftify. Even thefe appearances, as foon as we have furmounted the
illufion of the firft view, have fo little of the ape, that the calmuc and the negro
remain completely men, cven'in the form of the head, and the mallicoUefe dif-
* Even MarTuen mentions thefe in his hiftory f Sonnerat alfo, in his Foya^t aux Indts^
of Samatra, but only from hrarfay. Monboddo, < Voyage to India,' Vol. II, p. 103, fpeaks of
in his work on the Origin and Progrefs of Lan- thefe, but from report merely. Commerfon has
goage. Vol. I, p. 219 and following, has col- revived the ftory of dwarfs in Madagafcar after
leAed all the traditions refpefting men with Flaucoort; but later travellers have rejefled it..
tails he could find. ProfefTor Blumenbach, Dt On the hermaphrodites of Florida fee Heyne's
Gtrntrit humami Varittatt^ ' On the Varieties of critical eiTay in tht Commint,$teiit.Re^. Getting,,
the human Species,' has Ihown from what fources « Memoirs of the Royal Society of Goctiogen«'
the delineations of tailed jnen of the woods have for the year 1 778, p. 993.
been derived. X See Sparmann's Voyage, p. 177.
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i66 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VII.
plays capacities, that many other nations do not poffefe. In faft, apes and men
never were one and the fame genus, and I wilhed to reftify the flight remains
of the old fable, that in fomc place or other upon the Earth they lived in com-
munity, and enjoyed no barren intercourfe *. For each genus Nature has done
enough, and to each has given it's proper progeny. The ape (lie has divided
into as many fpecies and varieties as pofiible, and extended thefe as far as Ihe
could : but thou, O man, honour thyfclf: neither the pongo nor the gibbon is
thy brother : the american and the negro are : thefe therefore thou Ihouldft not
opprefs, or murder, or fteal ; for they arc men, like thee : with the ape thou
canft not enter into fraternity.
Laftly, I could wilh the diftinftions l)etwecn the human fpecies, that have
been made from a laudable zeal for difcriminating fcience, not carried beyond
due bounds. Some for inilance have thought fit, to employ the term oi races
for four or five divifions, originally made in confequencc of country or com-
plexion : but I fee no reafon for this appellation. Race refers to a difference of
origin, which in this cafe does not cxift, or in each of thefe countries^ and under
each of thefe complexions, comprifes the moft different races. For every
nation is one people, having it's own national form, as well as it's own language:
the climate, it is true, ftamps on each it's mark, or fpreads over it a flight veil»
but not fufficient to deftroy the original national charader. This originality of
charafter extends even to families, and it's tranfitions are as variable as impercep-
tible. In fliort, there are neither four or five races, nor exclufive varieties, on
this Earth. Complexions run into each other : forms follow the genetic cha-
rafter : and upon the whole, all are at laft but fliades of the fame great pifturc,
extending through all ages, and over all parts of the Earth. They belong not,
therefore, fo property to fyftematic natural hiftory, as to the phyfico-gcographical
hiftory pf man,
• In the Jufouigen am dem Tagebuch tines 1784, p. 256, this is aflcrtcd anew, ftill OcXj
neuen Reifenden nach Jßen, < Extradts from the from report.
Journal of a late Traveller in Afia/ Leipfic,
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[ x67 3
CHAPTER II.
Tie one Species of Man has naturalized itfelf in every Climate upon Earth.
O BSBRVE yon locuus of the Earth, the kalmuc and mungal : they are fitted for
no region but their own hills and mountains *. The light rider flics on his little
horfe over immenfe traäs of the defert; he knows how to invigorate his fainting
courfer, and by opening a vein in his neck, to reftore his own powers, when He
finks with £itigue. No rain fells on many parts of thefe regions, which are refre(hed
folely by the dew, while inexhauftible fertility clothes the earth with continually
lenovated verdure. Throughout many extenfive trafts no tree is to be feen, no
fpring of fi:«fli water to be difcovcrcd. Here thefe wild tribes, yet preferving
good order among themfelves, wander about among the luxuriant grafs, and
pafture their herds : the horfes, their aflbciates, know their voices, and live like
them in peace. With thoughtlefs indifference fits the indolent kalmuc, con-
templating the undiilurbed fcrenity of his iky, while his ear catches every found,
that pervades the defert his eye is unable to fcan. In every other region of the
Earth the mungal has either degenerated or improved : in his own country he is
what he was thouiands of years ago, and fuch will he continue, as long as it re-
mains imaltered by Nature or by art.
The arab of the defert -)- belongs to it, as much as his noble horfe, and his
patient, indefatigable camel. As the mungal wanders over his heights, and
among his hills, fo wanders the better-formed bedouin over his extenfive afia-
tic-african deferts; alfo a nomade, but a nomade oi his own region. With this
his fimple clothing, his maxims of life, his manners, and his charafter, are in
unifon j and, after the lapfe of thoufands of years, his tent ftill prefcrves the
wifdom of his forefathers. A lover of liberty, he defpifes wealth and pleafure,
is fleet in the courfe, a dextrous manager of his horfe, of whom he is as careful
as of himfelf, and equally dextrous in handling the javelin. His figure is lean
and mufcular j his coftiplexion brown ; his bones ftrong. He is indefatigable in
fupporting labour, bold and enterprizing, faithful to his word, hofpitable and
• For particular regions fee Pallas and others not embellifhed with lb many of the editor's re-
already qaoted. The account given by G. marks, which give it an air of romance.
Opitz of his life and Imprifonment among a f Befide the many ancient travels in Arabis
kalmuc horde at Yaik would be a very defcrip- fee thofe of Pages, YoL IJ^ p. 62—87.
live pidhire of their mode of living, if it were
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i68 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. tBooic VIT.
magnanimous, and, conneftcd with his fellows by the defert, he makes one com-
mon caufe with all. From the dangers of his mode of life he has imbibed
warinefs and fhy miftruft ; from his folitary abode, the feelings of revenge,
friendfliip, enthufiafm^ and pride. Wherever an arab is found, on the Nile or
the Euphrates, on Libanus or in Senegal, nay even in Zanguebar or the iüands
of the Indian ocean, if a foreign climate have not by length of time changed him
into a colonift, he will difplay his original arabian charafter.
The californian, on the verge of the earth, in his barren countr}% expofed as
Le is to want, and amid the viciffitudes of his climate, complains not of heat or
cold, eludes the force of hunger, though with the utmoft difficulty, and enjoys
happinefs in his native land. * God alone can tell,' fays a miflionary*, how
many thoufand miles a californian, that has attained the age of eighty, mud
have wandered over before he finds a grave. Many of them change their quar-
ters perhaps a hundred times in a year, fleeping fcarcely three nights together on
the fame fpot, or in the fame region. They lie down wherever night overtakes
them, without paying the lead regard to the filthinefs of the foil, or endeavour-
ing to fecure themfclves from noxious vermin. Their dark brown fkin fervcs
them inftead of coat and cloak. Their furniture confifts of a bow and arrows,
a ftone for a knife, a bone or fliari) ftake to dig up roots, the Qiell of a tortoife
for a cradle, a gut or a bladder to carry water, and, if they be peculiarly fortu-
nate, a pouch made of the fibres of the aloe, fomewhat in the fafhion of a net, to
x:ontain their utenfils and provifion. They feed on roots, and all forts of fmall
feeds, even thofe of grafs, which they colled with great labour; nay, when
preffcd by want, they pick them out of their o<vn dung. Every thing that can
be called flefh, or barely refembles it, even to bats, grubs, and worms, is to be
reckoned among the dainties, on which they feaft j and the leaves of certain
fhrubs, with their 3'oung flioots, leather, and fpungy bones, are not excluded
from their lift of provifion, when urged by hunger. Yet thefe poor creatures
are healthy : they live to a great age, and are ftrong; fo that it is uncommon to
fee a man grayheaded, and never but at a late period. They are always cheerful 5
for ever jefting and laughing; well made, ftraight, aad aftive ; they can lift
ftones and other things from the ground with their two foremoft toes j they walk
as ereft as a dart to the extreme of old age ; and the children go alone before
they are a year old. When weary of talking, they lie down and fleep, till
awakened by hunger, or the defire of eating : and as foon as they are awake, the
• Nacbr'ubien von Kai'fimitH, ' Account of California/ Mannheim, 1773.
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Chap. IL] M^m naturalized in every Climate upon Earth. 169
la\igh, the talk, and the jeft, recommence. Thus they go on, till worn out by
t>ld age, when they meet death with calm indifference. The inhabitant of Eu-
rope,* continues the miflionary, • may envy the happinefs of the californian : but
for this the native of California is indebted folely to his perfeÄ indifference whe-
ther he poffefs much or little in this world, and his abfolutc refignation to the
will of God in all the occurrences of life.*
In this manner I might go on, and exhibit climatic piftures of feveral nations,
inhabiting the moft different regions, from Kamtfchatka to Tierra del Fuego :
"but why (houid I give thefe brief fketches, fmce every traveller, who fees with
accuracy, or feels as a man, gives the fhade of the climate to every little ftroke
of his delineations ? In India, the grand refort of commercial nations, the arab
Tand the chinefe, the turk and the perfian, the chriftian and the jew, the negro
and the malay, the japanefe and the gentoo, are clearly diflinguifhable * : thus
every one bears the charafters of his country and way of life on the moft dif-
tant fhores. The ancient allegorical tradition fays, that Adam was formed out of
the duft of all the four quarters of the Globe, and animated by the powers and
fpirits of the whole Earth. Wherever his children have bent their courfe, and
fixed their abode, in the lapfe of ages, there they have taken root as trees, and
produced leaves and fruit adapted to the climate. Hence let us deduce a fevr
confequences, which feem to explain to us many things, that might otherwife be
adeemed ftriking fingularities in the hiftory of man.
In the firft place it is obvious why all fenfual people, &(hioned to their coun-
try, are fo much attached to the foil, and fo infeparable fi-om it. The conftitu-
tion of their body, their way of life, the pleafures and occupations to which they
have been accuftomed from their infancy, and the whole circle of their ideas,
are climatic. Deprive them of their country, you deprive them of every
thing
• It has been remarked," fays Cranz -f , * of the fix greenlandcrs, who were
brought over to Denmark, that, notwithftanding all the friendly treatment
they received, and the abundance of ftockfilh and train-oil, with which they
were fupplied, their eyes were often turned toward the north and their native
country, with melancholy looks and piteous fighs j and at length they attempted
to make their efcape in their canoe. A ftrong gale having driven them on the
coaft of Scania, they were brought back to Copenhagen, when two of them died
of grief. Two of the others again ran away, and only one of them was retaken,
• See Mackintoih's Travels, Vol. II, p. 27.
f Ctjcb, von Qranl^md, ' Hiftory of Greenland/ p* 555.
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I70 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIT.
who wept bitterly whenever he faw a child in it's mother's arms j whence it was
inferred, that he had a wife and children, for no one was able to converfe with
him, or prepare him for baptifm. The laft two lived ten or twelve years in
Denmark, and were employed in the pearl-fifliery at Coldingen, but were fo
hard-worked in winter, that one of them died. The other, again attempting
to efcape, was retaken thirty or forty leagues from land, when he too died of
grief.'
No words can exprefs the forrow and defpair of a bought or ftolen negro-
Have, when he leaves his native fliore, never more to behold it while he has
breath. * Great care mull be taken,' fays Roemer *, * that the flaves do not get
hold of a knife, either in the fort, or aboard the (hip. To keep them in goo«d
humour on their paflage to the Weft Indies requires the utmoft exertion. For
this purpofe violins are provided, with fifes and drums ; they are permitted to
dance j and they are aflured, that they are going to a pleafant country, where
f hey may have as many wives as they pleafe, and plenty of good food. Yet many
deplorable inftances have been known of their falling upon the crew, murdering
them, and letting the (hip drive alhore.' But how many more deplorable in-
ftances have been known of thefe poor ftolen wretches deftroying themfelves in
defpair ! Sparmann informs us ^f , from the mouth of a ilavedtoler, that at nigiit
they are fcized with a kind of frenzy, which prompts them to commit murder,
cither on themfelves or others ; • for the painful recoUeftion of the irreparable
lofs of their country and their freedom commonly awakes by night, when the
buftle of the day ceafes to engage their attention.' And what right have you,
monfters ! even to approach the country of thefe unfortunates, much lefs to tear
them from it by ftcalth, fraud, and cruelty ? For ages this quarter of the Globe
has been theirs, and they belong to it : their forefathers purchafed it at a dear
rate, at the price of the negro form and complexion. In fafhioning them the
african fun has adopted them as it's children, and imprelTed on them it's
own feal : wheiever you convey them, this brands you as robbers, as ftealcrs of
men.
Secondly. Thus the wars of favages for their country, or on account of it's
children, their brethren, torn from it, or degraded and opprefTed, are extremely
cruel. Hence, for inftance, the lafting hatred of the natives of America toward
europeans, even when thefe behave to them with tendernefs : they cannot fup-
prefs the feeling : * this land is ours j you have no bufinefs here.' Hence the
* Rcsmer*s Nachrichten *von iler Kutfle Guiuea, traveller has interfperfed through hu work
• Account of the Coaft of Guinea,' p. 279. many melancholy accoonu of the capture and
f Sparmann's Voyages, p. 73. This humane treatment of flaves, p. 195, 6ia, ^c.
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Chap. II.] Man naturalized in every CRmate upon Earth. 171
treachery of all favagcs, as they are called, even when they appear altogether fa-
tisfied with the courtefy of european vifitors. The moment their hereditary
national feelings awake, the flame they have long with difficulty fmothered
breaks out, rages with violence, and frequently is not appeafed, till the flefti of
the ftranger has been torn by the teeth of the native. To us this feems horrible ;
and it is fo, no doubt : yet the europeans firft urged them to this mifdced : for
why did they vifit their country ? why did they enter it as defpots, arbitrarily
praftiiing violence and extortion * ? For ages it had been to it's inhabitants the
univerfe : they had inherited it from their fathers, and from them too they had
inherited the barbarous practice of deftroying in the mod favage manner all,
who would deprive them of their territory, tear them from it, or encroach upon
their rights. Thus to them an enemy and a ftranger are the fame : they re-
femblc the mufcipulay which, rooted to it's foil, attacks every infcft that ap-
proaches it : the right of devouring an unbidden or unfriendly gueft is the
tribute th«y exaft i as cyclopical a tribute as any in Europe.
Laftly, I cannot pafs over thofe joyful fcenes, when a ftolen fon of nature re-
vifit^ his paternal fliores, and is reftored to the bofom of his country. When the
worthy foley prieft, Job Ben Solomon -f , returned to Africa, every foley em-
braced him witti brotherly aflFcftion, • he being the fecond of their countrymen,
that had ever returned from flavery.' How ardently had he longed for this !
How little was his heart fatisfied with all the tokens of frienddiip and refpeä he
received in England, which, as an enlightened, good-hearted man, he gratefully
acknowledged ! He was never at eafe, till he was certain of the Iliip, that was
to carry him home. This longing depends not on the ftate or advantages of a
man's native land. The hottentot Coree threw away all his european accoutre-
ments, ufeful as they might be, to (hare again the hardfliips of his countrymen %.
Inftances might be cited from almoft every climate, and the moft inhofpitable
countries have the ftrongeft attractions for their natives. Even the difficulties
furmounted, to which body and mind are formed from infancy, impart to the
natives that love of country and climate, which the inhabitants of fertile and
populous plains feel much lefs, and to which the citizen of an european metro-
polls is almoft a ftranger. It is time, however, to inveftigate the term climate
• See the editor's remarks on the unfortunate f Allg. Rei/en, Vol. Ill, p. 127 and follow-
Marion'j Voyage a la Mer du Sua, * Voyage to ing.
ttvc Soutli Sea:' alfo R. Forfter's preface to the X lb. Vol. V, p. 145. For other examples
Jounul of Cook's laft Voyage, Berlin, ij^i, fe&Roufleau, in the notes to His DlTcourfe on
^tii the accounts of the conduä of the cu- the Inequality of Men.
lopons.
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172 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVII.
more narrowly ; and while fome build (b much upon it, in the philofophy of the
hiftory of man, and others almoft deny it's influence altogether» I (hall ventuie
on nothing more than problems^.
CHAPTER m.
IVhat is Climate ? and what EffeSi has it informing the Body and Mind
of Man?
The two mod fixed points of our Globe are the poles : without tbefe it could
not revolve, nay probably could not be a globe. If we knew the genefis of the
poles, and the laws and efTeds of the magnetifm of our Earth on the various bo-
dies it contains, (hould we not have found the warp, which Nature, in the for-
mation of beings, afterwards varioufly interwove with other fuperiour powers ?
But, notwithftanding the many and fine experiments that have been made, as
we yet know little of it on the whole *, we are ftill in the dark with refpeft to
the bafis of all climates from the polar r^ions. At fome period, perhaps, the
magnet will render us the fame fervice in the fphere of phyfical powers» as it has
already full as unexpeäedly on fea and land.
The revolution of our Globe about it's own axis, and round the Sun, affords
us a nearer indication of climates ; but here too the application of even generally
admitted laws is difficult and deceptive. The zones of the ancients have not
been confirmed by our later knowledge of foreign parts, as, phyfically confi-
dered, they were founded on ignorance of them. It is the fame with our cal-
culations of heat and cold from the quantity and angle of the folar beams. As a
mathematical problem, the efffeft of thefe has been indulbriouily calculated with
the greateft accuracy ; but the mathematician himfelf would deem it an abufe
of his rule, if the philofopher, in writing the hiftory of climates, (hould build
conclufions on it, without admitting exceptions -f. In one place the proximity
of the fea, in another the wind, here the height of the land, there it's depth, in
a fifth place the vicinity of mountains, in a fixth rain or mift, gives fuch a par-
ticular local qualification to the general law, that we frequently find the moft
oppofite climates in places bordering upon each otiier. Befide this, it is evident
firom modem experiments, that every living being has it's own mode of receiv-
• See Brugmana Uibtr dm Magnttifaiut^ thod of calcidacing heat, in thcHamboig Ma«
On Magnetifm,' propofitions 24—31. g^sine, p. 499 and following.
t See Kaeftncr's elucidation of Halley't Me-
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Chap. III.] Ej^eR of Climate on the Body and Mud oj Man. 1 7.3
ing and evolving heat ; nay, that the more elaborate the organizarion of a
creature, and the more aftive the vital power it exerts, the greater capacity
it poffeffes of generating relative heat and cold *. The old pofition, that man
can live only in a climate, the heat of which docs not exceed tliat of the blood,
has been confuted by experience : on the other hand, the modern fyftems of the
origin and efTeft of animal heat arc far from having attained fufficient perfec-
tion, for us in any wife to think of a climatolog}^ of the human frame merely,
not to mention the faculties of the mind, and their arbitrary application. Every
one indeed knows, that heat extends and relaxes the fibres, attenuates the fluids,
and promotes perfpiration j and that thus it is capable in time of rendering the
folids light and fpongy, &c. This law remains inconteftible on the whole f ;
and in confequence, from it and it's antagonift, cold, many phyfical phenomena
have been already explained % : but general inferences from this principle, or
from a part of it, as relaxation or perfpiration for inftance, to whole nations and
countries, nay to the moft delicate funöions of the human mind, and the moft
accidental ordinances of fociety, are all in fomc meafure hypothetical i and this
the more, in proportion as the head that confiders and arranges them is acute and
fyftematic. They are contradided almoft ftep by ftep, by examples from hif-
tory, or even by phyfiological principles j becaufe too many powers, partly op-
pofitc to each other, aft in conjunftion. It has even been objeded to the great
Montefquieu, that he has erefted his climatic (pirit of laws on the fallacious ex-
periment of a flieep's tongue. It is true, we are duftile clay in the hand of Cli-
mate ; but her fingers mould fo varioufly, and the laws, that counteraft them, are
fo numerous, that perhaps the genius of mankind alone k capable of combining
the relations of all thefe powers in one whole.
Heat and cold are not the fole principles of the atmofpherc, that aft upon
us ; for it appears from late obfervations, to be a magazine of other powers,
which combine with us to our detriment or advantage. In it operates the
ftream of eleftric fire j a powerful fubftance, of the influence of which on the
animal machine we yet know little : and we are fully as ignorant how it is re-
ceived into the human body, and what changes it undergoes in it. We live by
the infpiration of air : yet it's balfam, our vital aliment, is a myftcry to us. If
• OclPi Ferfifhe uehtr das Vermagtn der Cold, Philofophical Tranfaöionf, Vol LXXI,
Bflatmiw und Tbirrt JV^ermi xu erzeugen und zu Part J I, Art. 31.
^xemichtea, • Experiments on the Capacities of t See the Pathology of Gaubins, Chap. V,
Plants and Animals to generate and deftroy X, &c.
Heat,' Hclmftadt, 1778: Crawford's Experi. t See Montefqoien, Caftillon, Falconer, not
menu on the Power of Animals to produce to mention » nombtr of lefs important irafts.
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174 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIL
now we add the various and almoft innumerable local modifications of it's com-
jx)nent parts, from the effluvia of different fubftances ; if we recolleft the fiie-
quent inftances of extraordinary, often terrible, and for ages inextinguifliable
difeafes, that have arifen from an invifible malignant feed, to which the phy-
fician is unable to give any other name than that of miafma j if we refledl on
the fecret poifon, that has brought us the fmallpox, the plague, fyphilis, and
many other diforders, which in the courfe of time have difappeared ; and confider
how little we know, not of the harnmttan zxAfimoom^ th^ßrocco and north-eafl
wind of Tatary, but of the conftitution and effefts of our own winds : how many
introduftory labours (hall we perceive to be wanting, ere we arrive at a phyfio-
logico-pathologj', to fay nothing of a climatology, of all the fenfitivc and cogita-
ti\'e faculties of man ! In the mean time, every judicious attempt deferves it's
laurels, and pofterity will have many honourable ones, to bellow on the prefent
times *.
Laftly, the elevation or depreffion of a region, it's nature and produfts, the
food and drink men enjoy in it, the mode of life they purfue, the labours in
which they are employed, their clothing, even their ordinary attitudes, their
arts and pleafures, with a multitude of other circumftances, which confiderably
influence their lives, all belong to the pifture of changeable climate. What
human hand can reduce this chaos of caufes and effects to a world of order, in
which every individual thing, and every individual region, (hall enjoy it's rights,
and no one receive too much or too little ? The beft and only thing we can
do is, to examine particular regions climatically, after the manner of Hippo-
crates -f , with his lagacious fimplicity, and then flowly, flowly deduce general
inferences. The natural hiftorian and phyfician are here the pupils of Nature,
and the teachers of the philofopher. To them we and pofterity alfo are already
indebted for feveral materials, collefted in different regions, toward a general
doftrine of climates and their effefts upon man. But here we muft content
ourfelves with general remarks, as we cannot defcend to particular obfcrva-
tions.
I. As our Earth is a glohe^ and- the firm land a mountain raifed above the fea, a
climatic community ^ affeSfing the life of eveiy thing livings is promoted on it by va^
rious caufes. Not only is the climate of every region periodically changed by
the alternation of day and night, and the revolution of the feafonsi but the
* See Gmclin ueher die neuem EfttdeckuugeK f See Hippocrates de Aere» Locis, ct Aqois,
in der Lehre von der Luß, ' on the modern Dif- particularly the fecond part of tlie trcatife. He
coveries m Aerology,' Berlin, 1784. is my principal author on thp fubjedi of climate.
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Ch A P . III.] EffeB of Climate on tie Body and Mind of Man. 1 7 5
jarring of the elements, the mutual aftion of fea and land upon each other, the
fituation of mountains and plains, the periodical winds, that arife from the mo-
tion of the Globe, the changes of the feafon, the appearance and difappearance
of the Sun, and many lefs important caufes, maintain this falutiferous union of
the elements, without which every thing would ftagnate in drowfmefs and cor-
ruption. We are furrounded by an atmofphere ; we live in an eleftric ocean ;
but both, and probably the magnetic fluid with them, arc in continual motion.
The fea emits vapours; the mountains attraft them, and fend them down in
rain and ftrcams on every fide. Thus winds relieve each other : thus years, or
periods of years, fulfil their climatic days. Thus different regions and ages fol-
low one another ; and every thing on our Globe combines in one general con-
nexion. Had the Earth been flat, or angular, as the chinefe have dreamed, it*s
corners might have produced climatic monfters, incompatible with it's prefent
regular ftrufture, and diffufive movement. The Hours dance in a circle round
the throne of Jove, and what is formed under their feet is only an imperfeft
perfeftion, bccaufe all originates from the union of things various in kind : but
from an internal love and conjunftion with one another, the children of Nature,
fenfible Regularity and Beauty, are every where produced.
2. The habitable land of our Earth is accumulated in regions^ where moß living
bangs a5t in the mode beß adapted to them ; and this fituation of the quarters of the
Globe influences all it's climates. Why does the cold in the fouthern hemifpherc
commence fo near the line ? The natural philofopher anfwers, * becaufe there
is fo little land, fo that the cold winds and ice of the ibuth pole extend them»
fclvcs to a great diftance.* Thus we perceive what would have been our fate,
had the whole of our firm land been fcattcred about in iflands. Now three
quarters of the Globe, lying in contad, warm each other : the fourth, being re-
mote from them, is on this account colder ; and in the South Sea, a very little
beyond the line, degeneracy and deformity begin with the deficiency of the land.
Fewer fpecies of the more perfeft animals alfo dwell there. The fouthern hemi-
fphere was made the grand refervoir of water for our Globe, that the northern
might enjoy a better climate. Thus, whether we confider the World geogra-
phically, or climatically, we find Nature intended mankind to be neighbourly
beings, dweUing together, and imparting to each other climatic warmth» and
other benefits, as well as the plague, difeafes, and climatic vices.
3. By the formation of the land on the frame of the mountains^ not only were it's
climates infinitely diverfifiedfor the great variety of living beings^ but the degeneration
of the human fpecies was provided againfi as much as pqffible. Mountains were
neceflary to the Earth : but we find mungals and tibetians only on one ridge of
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lyö PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book Vfl-
thcm ; ths lofty Cordilleras, and many others their fellows, are uninhabitable.
Barren deferts, alfo, are rare, from the mountainous ftrufture of the Earth : for
the mountains rife as condudors of the clouds, and pour out from their horns
of plenty fertilizing ftreams. The barren (hore, the bleak or marOiy border of
the fea, is every where more recently formed land ; and confequently men have
taken poffcffion of it later, and when their powers were already improved- The
vale of Quito was inhabited unqueftionably before Tierra del Fuego; Cafh-
mire, fooner than New Holland or Nova 2^mbla. The middle and broadeft
part of the earth, the land of the fined climate between fea and mountains, was
the nurfery of our fpecics, and is even now the moft fully peopled part of the
Globe.
There is no queftion, but, as climate is a compound of po^^^rs and influences,
to which both plants and animals contribute, and which every thing that has
breath promotes in it's reciprocating mutations, fo man is placed in it as a fove-
reign of the Earth, to alter it by art. Since he ftole fire from Heaven, and
rendered fteel obedient to his hand ; fince he has made not only beafls, but
his fellow men alfo, fubfervient to his will, and trained both them and plants to
his purpofes ; he has contributed to the alteration of climate in various ways.
Once Europe was a dank foreft ; and other regions, at prefent well cultivated,
were the lame. They are now expofed to the rays of the Sun ; and the inhabi-
tants themfelves have changed with the climate. The face of Egypt would
have been nothing more than the flime of the Nile, but for the art and policy
of man. He has gained it from the flood ; and both there, and in farther Afia,
the living creation has adapted itfelf to the artificial climate. Wc nuy confider
mankind, therefore, as a band of bold though diminutive giants, gradually de-
fcending from the mountains, to fubjugate the earth, and change climates with
their feeble arms. How for they arc capable of going in this refpedt futurity
will Ihow.
4. Finally, if it be allowable to fpeak in general terms on a fubjeft, which
reib fo completely on particular cafes, local or hiftorical, I will mfert, with a
little variation, fome cautions, that Bacon gives with relpeft to the hiftory of
revolutions*. The adion of climate extends itfelf indeed to bodies of all kinds,
but chiefly to the more delicate, to fluids, the air, and the ether. It operates
rather on the mais, than on the individual : yet on this, through that. It is
not confined to points of time, but prevails through long periods: though it is
often late before it becomes obvious, and then perhaps is rendered fo by flight
circumftances. Laftly, climate does not force, but incline : it gives the imper-
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Co AP. IIL] EffeSi of CHmaie on the Body and Mind of Man. lyy
aptible difpofition, which ftrikes us indeed in the general view of the life and
manners of indigenous nations, but is very difBcult to be delineated diftinftly.
Sometime poffibly a traveller may be found, who will purfue without prejudice
or exa^esation the fpirit of climate. At prefent our duty is rather to note the
living powers, for which each climate is formed ; and which, by their exiftence,
induce in it various changes and modifications.
CHAPTER IV.
^he genetic Power is the Mother of all the Forms upon Earthy Climate aEling merely
as an Auxiliary or Anlagonijh
How muft the man have been aftoniflicd, who firfl: law the wonders of the
creation of a living being * ! Globules, with fluids fliooting between them,
become a living point j and from this point an animal forms itfelf. The heart
foon becomes vifible, and, weak and imperfeft as it is, begins to beat : the blood,
which exifted before the heart, begins to redden : foon the head appears : foon
eyes, a mouth, the fenies, and limbs, difplay themfelvcs. Still there is no breaft,
}"et there is motion in the internal parts : there are no bowels, yet the animal
opens it's mouth. The little brain is not yet inclofed in the head ; or the heart,
in the breaft : the ribs and bones are like a fpider's web : but quickly the
wings, feet, toes, hips, appear, and the living creature receives more nourifti-
ment. What was naked becomes covered : the breaft and head clofe : the fto-
mach and bowels are ftill pendulous. Thefe alfo at length aflume their proper
form, as more matter is furniflied : the integuments contradt and afcend : the
belly clofes : the animal is formed. It now fwims no longer, but aflumes a re-
cumbent pofture : it wakes and fleeps by turns : it moves, it refts, it cries, it
feeks an exit, and comes complete in all it's parts into the light of day. What
would he who faw this wonder for the firft time call it } There, he would fay,
is a living organic power : I know not whence it came, or what it intrinfically
is : but that it is there, that it lives, that it has acquired itfelf organic parts out
of the chaos of homogeneal matter, I fee : this is incontcftible.
If he obfcrved farther, and faw, that each of thefe organic parts was fafliioned
as it were in a£luy in it's own operation : the heart formed itfelf no otherwifc
than by a confluence of the channels, that exifted before it ; as foon as the
^omach was perceptible, matter to be digefted was in it. It was the fame with
• Sec Iforvcy dt Cenerat, Animal., Wolf's Tbtor, Gentrat,, ic.
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ijg PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [SookVIL
the arteries and all the veffels : the contents exifted before what was to contain
them, the fluids before the folids, the fpirit before the body, in which it is
merely clot lud. If he obferved this *, would he not fay, that the invifiblc
power did not falhion arbitrarily, but only reveal itfelf as it were according
to it's internal nature ? It becomes vifible in a mafs appertaining to it, and mud
have fie ;.rGtotype of it's appearance in itfelfy whence or wherever it may be. The
new c] L:.ture is 4iothing but the realization of an idea of creative Nature, who
never thinks inaftively.
If he go farther and obferve, that this creation is promoted by maternal or
führ warmth ; but that the egg will produce no living fruit, notwithftanding
the prefence of the neceflary warmth and materials, unlefs quickened by the fa-
ther : what would he fuppofe, but that the principle of heat may indeed have
fome affinity to the principle of life, which it promotes, yet that the caufe, which
fets this organic power in adion, to give the dead chaos of matter a living form»
mud adually lie in the union of two living beings ? Thus we, thus all living
creatures, are formed ; each after the kind of it's organization ; but all according
to the evident laws of an analogy, that prevails univerfally with every thing, that
lives upon this Earth.
Laftlyj when it appears, that this vital power does not quit the finifhed crea-
ture, but continues to difplay itjelf aSiively in him j no longer creating indeed, for
he is created, but fupporting, vivifying, nourifliing: from the moment he enters
the World, he {performs all the vital funftions for which, nay in fome meafure in
which, he was made ; the mouth opens, as opening was it's firft aäion, and the
lungs refpire ; the vocal organs emit found, the lips fuck, the ftomach digcfls ;
he lives, he grows, all the external and internal parts affift each other ; they at-
tract, rejedt, and affimilate, with aflbciated aftion and fympathy, and affift one
another in pain and difeafe in a thoufand wonderful and incomprehenfibte ways :
what would he, what would any one, who faw this for the firft time, fay, but that
the innate genetic vital power ftill refides in the creature, that was formed by it, in
all it's parts, and in each after it's proper manner, that is organically ? It is pre-
fent in him every where in the moft multifarious manner ; for only by it's means
is he a living whole, feif fupporting, growing, and afting.
This vital power we all have in us : it affifts us in ficknefs and in health, affi-
milates homogeneal fubftances, feparates heterogeneal matters, and expels fuch
as are injurious; at length it grows feeble with age, and lives in fome parts even
after death. It is not the faculty of rcafon : for this afluredly did not fafliioa
• Wolf's Tbtor. Ggnerat. p. 169, b. 180— a i6.
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Chap. IV.] l^he genetic Power the Mother of all Forms upon Earth, 179
the body, which it does not know, and which it employs merely as an imperfeft
adventitious infknxment, lo execute it's thoughts. Yet this faculty is connected
with the vital power, as all the powers of nature are connefted : for even incor-
poreal thought depends on the health and oi^nization of the body, and all the
deßres and propenfitics of our hearts are infeparable from animal warmth. All
thefe are natural /j<3j, which no hypothefis can (hake, no logic of the fchools
overturn : the enunciation of them is the moft ancient philofophy of the Earth,
as probably it will be the laft *. Cer>tainly as I know that I think, yet know
not my thinking faculty ; as certainly do I fee and feel that I live, though I
know not what the vital principle is. This principle is innate, organical, ge-
netic : it is the bkfis of my natural powers, the internal genius of my being.
Man is the moft perfeft of earthly creatures, only becaufe in him the fineft or-
ganic powers we know aft with the moft elaborately organized inftruments«
He is the moft perfeft animal plant, a native genius in human form.
If the principles hitherto advanced be juft, and they are founded on indif-
putable experience, our {pedes cannot in any way degenerate, but by the ope-
ration of thefe organic powers. Whatever climate may efieft, every man«
every animal, every plant, has his own climate i for every one receives all ex-
ternal impreffions in his own manner, and modifies them according to his organs.
Even in the minuteft fibre man is not affefted as a ftone, as a hydatid. Let us
confider fome fteps, or {hades» of this degeneration.
The firft ftep in the degeneration of the human fpecies exhibits itfclf in the
external parts : not as if thefe fuffered or afted of themfelves, but becaufe the
power dwelling in us a£b from within to without. By the moft wonderful me-
chanifm it ftrives to expel firom the body what b incongruous or detrimental to
it : the firft alterations of it's organic ftrufture, therefore, muft be perceptible
on the confines of it's domain ; and accordingly the moft ftriking varieties of
the fpecies afieft only the ikin and hair. Nature protefts the internal eilentiai
form, and drives out as far as poffible the ^grieving matter.
If the altered external power proceed farther, it's effefts (hojv themfelves in
the fame way as the vital principle itfclf afts, in the way of nutrition and propa^
gation. The negro is born fair : the parts that firft grow black in him -f are
• Hippocrates, Ariftode, Galen» Harvey, only beftowing on it ▼ariona appellations, or
3oyle, btalil, Guiibn, Gaubius, Albinos, and fometimes not fufficiently difcriminating it from
many others of the grtaiell obfervers or phi- collateral powers.
loTophers of the human fpecies, compelled by f See the preceding book, p. 151.
experiment, have admitted thb vital principle.
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lÄo PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooicVII.
evident figns, that the tniafma of his change, which the external air merely de-
velopes, afts genetically. The age of puberty, as well as a multitude of faftj
obferved in difeafes, fhows us the extenfive fway, that the powers of nutrition
and propagation poflefs in the human body. By thefe the remoteft parts of
the body are conneded ; and in tlie degeneration of the fpecies thefe parts fufier
in conjunäion. Hence, the (kin and fexual parts excepted, the ears, the neck
and voice, the nofe, the lips, the head, &c^ are precifely the parts, in which moCt
changes appear.
Finally, as the vital principle connedtrs all the parts together, and the oi^ni«
zation is a complicated knot, which has properly neither beginning nor end, it is
eafy to comprehend, that the moft interna] change of any confequence muft ulti-
mately become vifible even in the parts poffcfling the groateft folidity, the relations
of which are altered, by means of the internal power thai b aficÄed, from the crown
of the head to the fole of the foot. Nature does not eafily yield to this change ;
even in monftrous births, when (he has been forcibly difturbed in her operations,
(he has aftonilhing ways of reparation, as a defeated general difplays moft (kill in 4
retreat. The various national forms of people however teftify, that even this, the
moft difficult change of the human fpecies, is poffible : and it is rendered fo by
the multifarious complication and delicate mobility of our frame, with the in-
numerable powers that aft upon it. But this diflScult change is effefted only
from within. For ages particular nations have moulded their heads, bored thci»
nofes, confined their feet, or extended tlieir ears : Nature remains true to her-
felf ; and if for a time (be be compelled to take a courfe (he would not, and fend
fluids to the diftorted parts ; (he proceeds on her own way, as foon as (he can
lecover her liberty, and produces her own more perfeft image. If the deformity
be genetic, and effefted in the natural way, the cafe is totally diflferent : it is
then hereditary, even in particular parts. Let it not be faid, that art or the
Sun has flattened the negro's nofe. As the figure of this part is connefted with
the conformation of the whole (kuU, the chin, thp neck, the fpine ; and the
branchmg fpinal marrow is as it were the trunk of the tree, on which the thorax
and all the limbs are formed j comparative anatomy (atisfaftorily (hows ♦, thaü
the degeneration has afiefted the whole figure, and none of thefe folid parts
could be changed without an alteration of the whole. Thus the negro form is
tranfmitted in hereditary fucceflion, and is capable of being rechanged no other-
wife than genetically. See the negro in Europe : he remains as he was. Let
• See Soemmering UeBtr dit ketrftrlkht Vtr^ bodily Difference between ch« Negro and the
Jtbitdenbeit dts M^tr *v9m Europ^ftr^ 'On the European/ Menti, 1784.
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Chap. IV.] ^e genetic Power the Mother of all Forms upon Earth. 1 8 1
him marry a white woman, and a fingle generation will effeä a change, which
#he fair-complexioned climate could not produce in ages. So it is with the
figures of all nations : regions alter them very flowly j but by intermixture with
foreigners, in a few generations every mungal, chinefe, or american feature va«
nilhes.
If it be s^eeable to the reader to puffue this path, let us go on a few ftepi
farther.
I. It muft be obvious to every obferver, that, amid the innumerable varieties
of the human figure y certain forms and proportions not only reoccury but pertain ex-
clufively to sack other. With artifts this is an acknowledged faft : and we fee in
the ftatues of the ancients, that they placed this proportion, or fymmetry as
they termed it, not merely in the length and breadth of the limbs, but alfo in
their harmonic adjuftment to the fpirit of the whole. The charafters of their
gods and goddefles, their youths and heroes, were fo determinate in their whole
conformation, that they are in fome degree to be known from fingle limbs, and
no one figure will admit of an arm, a bread, a (boulder, that belonged to another.
The genius of a particular living being exifts in each of thefe forms, which ferves
it merely as a (hell, and characterizes xtfs^ in the leaft attitude or motion as
diftinftly as in the whole. Among the moderns, the Polydete of our country *,
Albert Durer^, has induftriouily examined the meafure of various proportions
of the human body ; and thus rendered it obvious to every eye, that the figures
of all the parts differ with their proportions. What would it 4)e, if a man
united Durer's accuracy with the fpirit and tafte of the ancients, and ftudicd
the difierences of the genetic forms and charaäers of men, in their concordant
figures ! Thus, I think, Phyfiognomy would return to her old natural way, to
-which her name points ; and in which (he would be neither Ethognomy, nor
Technc^nomy, but the expofitor of the living nature of a man, the interpreter
as it were of his genius rendered vifible. As within thefe bounds (he remains
true to the analogy of the whole, which is moft confpicuous in the face, Pathog-
Aomy muft be her (ifter, Phyfiology and Semeiotics her firiends and affiftants :
for the external figure of man is but the cafe of his internal mechanifm, a con-
fiftent whole, in which every letter forms a part of the word indeed, but only the
whole word has a detenninate fignification. It is thus we pradtife and apply
phyfiognomy in common life : the experienced phyfician fees from a man's make
• Th*M rpithet can allude only to the canon nor the ftyle of the ficyonian genius were thoft
of proportions, which Polyclete is faid to have of Albert of Naremberg. F.
eftabliihed in one of his figures : Plin. L. f Albert Darer's four Books on human Pro-
XXJCIV» c. 8 : for furely neither the materials portion, Nuremberg, 1528.
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iS2 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIL
and countenance to what difeafes he is fubjeft, and the phyfiognomic eye even
of a child obfcn-es the natural difpofition (^uo-k) of a man in his perfon, that
is, the form in which his genius difclofes itfel£
Farther. Are not theje forms ^ thefe concords of karmofiizing partSy capable of
being notcdy and reduced like letters as it were to an alphabet ^ Not that we
muft expecb this fyftem of letters ever to be complete, as there Is no fuch thing
as a perfcifl alphabet in any language; but a careful ftudy of thefe living
orders of human columns unqueftionably opens a wide field for the fcience of
charafter. If in this purfuit v^e were not to confine ourfelves to Europe, and
ftill lefs to our common idea of the fummit of health and beauty, but followed
living Nature throughout the Globe, in whatever harmony of congruous parts
fhe difplays herfelf, varioufly diverfified, yet ever one : numerous difcoverics re-
fpefting the concent and melody of living powers in the human ftrufture would
undoubtedly reward our exertions. Nay it is probable, this ftudy of the natu-
ral confent of forms in the human body would carry us farther, than the doc-
trine of complexions and temperaments, often attempted, though commonly to
little purpofe. The moft acute obfcrvers have made little progrefs here, be-
caufe they have wanted a determinate alphabet, to note the diflFercnccs, that
were to be exprefled *^
As the phyfiology of life muft every where carry the torch before fuch ^ßgu-
ral hiflory of the formation and diverßficntion of the human fpecies^ the wifdom of
Nature, who fafhlons and alters forms only according to one law of multifarioufly
compenfating goodnefs, would be vifible at ever)' ftep. Why, for example, did
the creative mother feparate fpecies fi-om each other ? For no other reafon,
but to make and preferve the image of their conformation more perfeft. Wc
know not how many of the prefent fpecies of animals may have approached
nearer to each other in an earlier age of our Earth ; but wc fee, that their boun-
daries are nozv genetically feparated. In the wild ftate,no beaft couples with one of
a different kind : and if the defpotic art of man, or the wanton indolence, to
which pampered animals yield, caufe a deviation from their real propcn-
fities, Nature permits not her unchangeable laws to be furmounted by
art or debauchery. Either the union is unproduftive, or the forced ille-
gitimate offspring is propagated only among the neareft fpecies. Nay, among
thefe baftard fpecies themfelves, we perceive the deviation no where but in the
extreme parts of the figure, as in the degeneration of the human fpecies already
defcribcd : if the internal effential form had been fufceptible of alteration, no
• I find this dodrine redaced to great fiin> Platner too, and fome others^ haye their ac*
|>licity in Metzger's mifcellaneous Works, VoL I. knowledged mcriu on this head.
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C IT A p . IV. J Tie genetic Power the Mother of all Forms upon Earth 1 83
Kving creature could have preferved it's identity. Thus in confequence of the
fundamental laws of creative nature, and the genetic eflential type of each ge-
nus, neither a centaur, nor a fatyr, neither a Scylla, nor ä Medufa, is within the
Iphere of procreation.
3. Ladly, the moß exquißte means employed by Nature^ to unite variety andfia-
bility of form in her genera^ were the creation and union of the two fexes. With
what wonderful delicacy and fpirit do the features of the two parents unite in
the countenances and make of their children ! as if their fouls had been trans-
fufed into them in different proportions, and the multifarious natural powers
of organization had been divided between them. That difeafes and features,
nay that tempers and difpofitions, are hereditary, is known to all the world :
even the forms of anceftors long departed frequently return in the courfe of
generations in a wonderful manner. Equally undeniable, though not eafy to be
explained ; is the influence of the bodily and mental affeftions of the mother on
the foetus ; many lamentable examples of the effeös of which have been born
till death. Thus Nature has turned into each other two currents of life, to
endow the future creature with one complete natural power, which will live in
it according to the features of both the parents. Many a declining race is again
reftorcd by a cheerful healthy mother : many a debilitated youth muft firft be
awakened to a living natural creature in the arms of his wife. In the genial
formation of man Love is the mod powerful of all deities : he ennobles races, and
revives the declining : a ray of the divinity, the fparks of which kindle the flame
of human life, and make it burn here more vividly, there more obfcurely. No-
thing, on the contrary, counteracts the plaftic genius of Nature more than
cold antipathy ; or difgufting convenience, which is even worfe. This brings
perfons together, who were never defigned for each other, and perpetuates mife-
rable beings, never in harmony with themfelves. No brute has yet funk fo low,
as man has fallen firom this caufe of degeneracy.
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PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVII.
CHAPTER V.
ConcIuJifig Remarks on the Oppofition between Geneßs and Climate.
IF I miftalce not, the hints, that have been given, may be confidered as the com-
mencement of the line, that marks this oppofition. No man will cxpeft, for
inftance, that the rofe fhould become a Hlly, the dog a wolf, in a foreign cli-
mate : for Nature has drawn determinate lines round her fpecies, and permits
a creature rather to difappcar, than eflentially deface or falfify it's figure. But,
that the rofe can admit of variation, that the dog can acquire fomething wolfifli,
is conformable to experience : yet here the variation is producible only by flow
or fpeedy violence done to the refilling organic powers. Thus both the con-
tending principles adt with great force, yet each in it's own way. Climate is a
chaos of caufes, very difiirailar to each other, and in confequence ading flowly
and in various ways, till at length they penetrate to the internal parts, and change
them by habit, and by the genetic power it (elf : this refifts long, forcibly, uni-
formly, and like itfelf ; but as it is not independent of external afTedions, it alfo
muft accommodate itfelf to them in length of time.
To an extenfive view of the oppofition in general, I would prefer an inftnic-
tive examination ot particular cafes, of which hiftory and geography afford us
an ample ftore. We know, for example, what cffed the adoption of the mode
of life of the natives, or the retaining of their own european cuftoms, has had
on the portuguefe colonies in Africa, or the fpanifli, dutch, englifti, and german
fettlcrs, in America and the ELaft Indies. When all thefe were accurately invef-
tigated, we might proceed to more ancient tranfitions ; as for inftance of the
malays to the iflands, the arabs to Africa and the Eaft Indies, and the turks to
the countries conquered by them ; and thus go on to the mungals, the tatars«
and laftly the fwarm of nations, that covered Europe in the courfe of the great
migration. We fliould never overlook the climate from which a people came,
the mode of life it brought with it, the country that lay before it, the nations
with which it intermingled, and the revolutions it has undergone in it's new
feat. If this inquiry were carried through thofe ages of which we have authentic
accounts, we might probably arrive at conclufions refpefting thofe more early
migrations, of which we know nothing but from the traditional tales of ancient
writers, or the coincidencies of language and mythology j for in feft all, or mofl
of the nations upon Earth at leaft, have fooner or later migrated. Thus, with
ithe afliftance of a few maps for the convenience of infpedtion, we fliould ob-
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Chap. V.] Remarks oh tie OppofitioH between Geneßs and Climate. 1 85
tain a phyfico-geograpUcal hißory of the defcent and diverfification of our /pedes ac-
cording to periods and climates, which at every ftep muft afford us important
refults.
Without anticipating the labours of the inquiring mind, that fliall undertake
this tafk, I will introduce a few fadls from modern hiflory, as brief examples of
my preceding examination.
1. ToofuddeHy too precipitate traftfitions to an oppofite hemifphere and climate are
feldom falutary to a nation ; for Nature has not eftabliflied her boundaries be-
tween remote lands in vain. The hiftory of conquefts, as well as of commercial
companies, and efpecially that of miflions, afford a melancholy, and in fome
refpedts a laughable pidurc, if we delineate this fubjeft and it's confequences
with impartiality, even from the narrations of the parties themfelves. We fhud-
der with abhorrence when we read the accounts of many european nations, who,
funk in the mod diffolute voluptuoufnefs and infenfible pride, have degenerated
both in body and mind, and no longer poffefs any capacity for enjoyment and
compaffion. They are fullblown bladders in human fhape, loft to every noble
and adive pleafure, and in whofe veins lurks avenging death. If to tliefe we
add the wretches, to whom both the Indies have proved infatiate graves ; if we
read the hiftories of the difeafes of foreign climates, given by englifh, french, and
dutch phyficians ; and if wc then turn our eyes to the pious miffionaries, who
have not been fo ready to quit the garb of their order, and their european mode
of life i what inftrudlive inferences prefs upon us, which alas ! belong to the
hiftory of man !
2. Even the european indußry of lefs debauched colonies in other quarters of the
Globe is not alzvays able to avert the effedi of climate. It is obferved by Kalm *,
that the europeans in North- America arrive earlier at the age of puberty, but at
the fame time fooner grow old and die, than in their native country. * It is
nothing uncommon,' fays he, * to find little children anfwer queftions put to
them with aftoniftiing readinefs and vivacity, and yet not attain the age of eu-
ropeans. Eighty or ninety years are feldom reached by one born in America
of european parents, though the aborigines frequently live much longer : and
the natives of Europe commonly live much longer in America, than fuch of
their children as are born in that country. The women fooner ceafe child-
bearing, fome as early as the age of thirty ; and it is generally obferved, that the
offspring of the european colonifts lofe their teeth foon and prematurely, while
* Gottingcn CoUedlion of Travels, Vols. X and X\, paßm.
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i86 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VII.
the americans retain their teeth white and found to the end of their lives.*
This pafTage has been improperly quoted as a proof of the unhealthinefi of
America with reipeft to her own children : but it is to foreigners only that (he
is a ftepmother, who, as Kalm obTerves, dwell in her bofom with different con-
ftitutions and manners.
3. Let it not be imagined^ that human art can with defpotic power convert at once
a foreign region into another Europe, by cutting down it's forcfts, and cultivating
it's foil : for it's whole living creation is conformable to it, and this is not to be
changed at difcretion. Even Kalm informs us, firom the mouths of americaa
fwedes, that the fpeedy deftrudtion of the woods, and cultivation of the land»
not only leflened the number of edible birds, which were found in innumerable
multitudes in the forefts and on the waters, and of fiflies with which the brooks
and rivers fwarmed, and diminifhed the lakes, ftreams, rivulets, fpring^ rains»
thick long grafs of the woods, &c. ; but feemed to affeft the health and longe-
vity of the inhabitants, and influence the feafons. * The americans,' lays he,
* who frequently lived a hundred years and upwards before the arrival of the
europeans, now often attain fcarcely half the age of their forefathers : and this,
it is probable, we muil not afcribe folely to the deftrudkive ufe of fpirits, and an
alteration in their way of life, but likewife to the lofs of fo many odoriferous
herbs, and falutary plants, which every morning and evening perfumed the air,
as if the country had been a flower-garden. The winter was then more feafon-
able, cold, healthy, and conftant : now the fpring commences later, and, like
the other feafons, is more variable and irregular.' This is the account given by
Kalm i and however local we may confider it, dill it ihows, that Nature loves
not too fpeedy, too violent a change, even in the beft work, that man can per-
form, the cultivation of a country. May we not alfo attribute the debility of
the civilized americans, as they are called, in Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, and
Brafil, to this among other things, that we have changed their country and
manner of living, without the power or the will of giving them an european
nature ? All the nations, that live in the woods, and after the manner of their
forefather?, are ftrong and bold, live long, and renovate their vigour like their
own trees : thofe on the cultivated land, deprived of (hade and moiilure, de-
cline miferably ; their fouls are left behind in the woods. Read, as an exam-
ple, the affedting hiftory of a fimple flourifliing family, drawn from it's wilds by
Dobritzliofer *. Both the mother and daughter foon died; and both in
dreams continued to call on their fon and brother left behind, till death dofed
* Dobritzhofer'i GiJcbUbtt dtr Jbs^tr9 «Hiiloxy oiH» Abipouani^' Vol« J!» p. 114«
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Chap. V.] Remarks on tie Oppoßüon between Geneßs and Climate. 187
his eyes without the aid of difeafe. This alone renders it comprehenfible, how
nations, that once were valiant, aftive, and refolute, fliould in a (hort time fink
into fuch aftate of weakneß, as the jefuits of Pan^uay and travellers in Peru
defcribc : a weaknefs of which we cannot read without forrow. In the courfe
of ages this fubjugation of Nature may have it's good eife&s in particular
places * ; though I doubt this, if it were generally prafticable : but for the firft
races, both of the civilizers and civilized, it appears to have none ; for Nature
is every where a living whole, and will be gently followed and improved, not
maftered by force. Nothing has been made of any of the favs^es, who have
been fuddenly brought into the throng of an european city : from the fplendid
height, on which they were placed, they longed for their native plains, and for the
moft part returned inexpert and corrupted to their ancient way of life, which
alfo they were now rendered mcapable of enjoying. It is the lame with the
forcible alteration of (avage climates by european hands.
O fons of Dedalus, emiflaries of Fate, how many inftruments are in your
hands for conferring happinefs on nations by humane and compafGonate means !
and how has a proud infolent love of gain led you almoft every where into a
different path ! All new comers from a foreign land, who have fubmitted to na-
turalize themielves with the inhabitants, have not only enjoyed their lovt and
friendfhip, but have ultimately found, that their mode of life was not altogether
iinfuitable to the climate : but how few fuch are there I how feldom does an
curope^tu hear from the native of any country the praife, * he is a rational man
like us !* And does not Nature revenge every infult oflFered her ? Where are
the conquefts, the faftories, the invafions, of former times, when diftant foreign
lands were vifited by a different race, for the fake of devaftation or plunder !
The ftill breath of climate has diffipated or confumed them, and it was not
difficult for the natives to give the finifliing ftroke to the rootlefs tree. The
quiet plant, on the other hand, that has accommodated itfelf to the law^ of
Nature, has not only preferved it's own eziflence, but has beneficially diffufed
the feeds of cultivation through a new land. Future ages may decide, what
benefit, or injury, our genius has conferred on other climates, and other climates
on our genius.
* See WiUiamfon's attonpt to expltin the caufes of change of climate, in the Berlin CoUedion,
VoLVIL
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[ 188 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK vm.
AS it would be with one, who, from navigating the fea, ßiould attempt a
voyage through the air, fo it is with me, now that, having gone over the
figure and natural powers of man, I come to his mind, and attempt to inveftx-
gate it's variable faculties, as they exift throughout the wide World, from in-
diredt, defective, and partly queftionable accounts. The metaphyfician has here
a much eaiier tafk. He fets out with eilabliihing a certain idea of the mind,
and from this deduces every thing, that can be deduced, wherever, or under
whatever circumftances, it may be found. The philofopher of hiftory can pro-
ceed on no abfb-adt notion, but on hiflory alone ^ and he is in danger of forming
erroneous conclufions, if be do not generalize at leaft in fome degree the nu-
merous fadts before him. I fhall attempt to explore the way, however : yet,
inflead of launching out into the ocean, I fliall rather coaft along the Ihore ; or,
to fpeak in plain terms, confine myfelf to undoubted fadts, or fuch as are ge-
nerally coniidered fo, diftinguifliing them from my own conjedtures, and leaving
it to thofe who are more fortunate» to arrange and employ them in a better
manner.
CHAPTER I.
T^ite Appetites vf the human Species vary with their Form and Climate ; but a left
brutal Ufe of the Senfes univerfally leads to Humanity,
All nations, the difcafed albinoes perhaps excepted, enjoy the five or fix
fcnfes of man : the men without feehng of Diodorus, and the nations of deaf
and dumb, are proved fabulous in modern hiftory. Yet he, who attends only to
the difference of the external fenfes among us, and then confiders the innu-
merable multitudes living in all the climates of the Earth, will find himielf
contemplating an ocean, where wave lofes itfelf in wave. Every man has a par-
ticular proportion, a particular harmony as it were, between all his fenfi*
tive feelings > fo that» in extraordinary caies, the moft wonderful appearances
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Chap. I.] Appetites of the human Species vary with Form and Climate. 1 89
frequently occur, to (how the ftate of an individual on this or that occafion.
Hence phyficians and philofophers have already formed whole colledtions of
Angular and peculiar feelings, that is of idiofyncrafies, which are in many in-
ftances equally rare and inexplicable. For the moft part thefe are obferved only
in difeafe, or unufual incidents, not in the common occurrences of life. Lan-
guage too has no terms for them ; as every man fpeaks and underftands accord-
ing to his own perceptions alone, and different organizations of courfe want a
common flandard for their different feelings. Even in the cleared fenfe, that of
feeing, thefe differences difplay themfelves, not only with refpedt to diftaace,
but alfo to the figure and colour of things : hence fo many painters have their
peculiarities of outline, and almoft every one his particular ftyle of colouring.
It is not the part of the philofophy of the hiftory of man to exhautt this ocean,
but by fome ftriking differences to call our attention to the more delicate, that
Kc around us.
The moft general and neceffary fenfe is that of feeling : it is the bafis of the
reft, and one of the greateft organic preeminences of man *. It has conferred on
us dexterity, invention, and art ; and contributes more perhaps to the forma-
tion of our ideas, than we imagine. But how different is this fenfe, according
as it is modified by the way of life, climate, application, exercife, and native ir-
ritability of the body ! To fome american nations, for example, an infenfibility
of the ikin is afcribed, confpicuous even in women, and under the moft painful
operations -f*. If the faft be true, I conceive it eafily explicable both from cor-
poral and mental circumftances. For ages many nations in this quarter of the
Globe have expofed their naked bodies to the piercing winds, and tlie ftings of
infefts; and, to proteft them in fome meafurefrom thefe, have befmeared tiiem
with acrid unguents. They alfo pluck out the hair, which promotes the ten-
demefs of the ikin. Alkaline roots and plants, and the meal of acrimonious
vegetables, are ufed by them as food j and the clofe fympathy between tl:e or-
gans of digeftion, and the feat of feeling, the ikin, is well-known, this fenfe co^ii-
pletcly failing in confequence of it in many diieafes. Elven their immoderate
indulgence in eating, after which they will endure hunger to a degree equally
uncommon, feems to confirm this infenfibility, which is alfoa fymptom of many
of their difeafes J, and confequently muft be reckoned among the advantages
• See Metzger on the bodily excellences of f Robertfon's Hiftory of America^ VoL I,
jnan over brutes, in his Vermifibun Medkinifcbeu p. 562.
Scbrifttm, « Mircellaneoas Medical Tradls/ t Ulloa, VoLI, p. 188«
VoL IIL
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I90 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVKI.
and diiadvantages of their climate. With it Natiire has gradually anned thetn
againft evils» which greater feniibility would have rendered infupportable ; and
with them Art has followed the fteps of Nature. The north-americans fuffer
pain and torment with heroic infenfibility» from principles of honour. They are
formed to it from in&ncy ; and in this the women yield not to the men. Thus
ftoic apathy under bodily pam is to them a natural habitude : and their feebler
appetite for pleafure, notwithflandmg the vivacity of their natural powers ia
other refpeäs, and even that lethargic infenfibility» in confequence of which
many fubjugated nations appear as if in a waking dream, feem deducible from
this caufe. Brutes therefore muft they have been, who, from a flill greater
want of human feeling, have abufed, or put to painful trials, a want, which Na-
ture beftowed on her children for their folace and convenience.
Ezperi^ce has fhown, that an immoderate degree of heat or cold fcorches up
or benumbs the external feeling. Nations that walk barefoot on the iknds ac-
quire a fole as hard as iron ; and inftances have been known of fuch perfons
ftanding on burning coals for twenty minutes. Corrofive poifons can fo change
the fkin, that a man may plunge his hand into melted lead $ and rigorous cold,
as well as anger and other paffions of the mind, alfo contributes to deaden the
feeling *• This fenfe on the other hand appears mofl exquiiite in regions, and
under a mode of life, that are moft &vouifkble to the gentle contraftion of the
fkin, and an harmonious extenfion as it were of the nerves of touch. The eaft-
indian enjoys perhaps in the higheft perfection the organs of fenfe. His palate,
which has never been blunted by flrong drink or flimulating food, taflcs the
flightefl accidental flavour in pure water i and his fingers imitate the mofl delicate
works in fuch a manner, that the copy is not to be diflinguilhed fix)m the originaL
His mind is calm and ferene, an echo of the gentle feelings, that every thing
around him excites. So play the waves about the fwan : fo whilper the winds
through the thin foliage of fpring.
Next to the warmth and fcrenity of the climate, nothing contributes fo much
to this exquifitenefs of feeling, as cleanlmefs, temperance, and motion : three
phyfical virtues, in which many nations, that we term uncivilized, exceed us,
and which the inhabitants of the mofl delightfid countries appear particularly
to claim as their own. Keepir^ the mouth clean, frequent bathing, love of
exercife in the open air, and even the healthy and voluptuous rubbing and ex*
tcnfion of the body, which was as well known to the romans, as it is now com-
mon among the Indians^ perfians, and many tatar nations through a conlider-
• Hancr»! Phyfidogy, Vol. V, p. i6.
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Crap. I.] Appetites of the human Species vary with Form and Climate. 191
able traft of country, promotes the circulation of the fluids, and maintains the
elaftic tone of the mufcular fibres. The inhabitants of the moft fertile country
live temperately : they have no conception, that an unnatural ftimulation of
the nerves, and a daily overloading of the veflels, can be pleafures, for which
man was created : the caft of bramins have tafted neither flefli nor wine from
the beginning of the World. Now fince the eifefts of thefe on the whole fyftem
of fenfation in brutes are apparent, niuft they not operate much more power-
fully on the flower of all organizations, man ? Moderation in fenfual enjoy-
ment without doubt contributes more efFeftually to the philofophy of huma-
nity, than a thoufand learned and artificial abftraft confidcrations.
All people of coarfe feelings, in a favage ftate, or rigorous climate, are glut-
tonous ; as they are frequently obliged to fuffcr hunger afterwards : for the moft
part, too, they eat whatever comes in their way. Nations poflcfllng finer fenfes
love more delicate plcafures. Their meals are fimple, and they eat daily the
fame food ; but then they are fond of luxurious unguents, fine perfumes, pomp,
and convenience ; and their higheft pleafure is fenfual love. If we were talking
merely of the finenefs of organs, there can be no doubt, which way the prefe-
rence would incline : for no poliflied european would hefitate, to choofe between
the fat and train-oil of the greenlandcr, and the aromatics of the hindoo. But
it is a queflion, in fpite of our verbal polifli, to which of the two we approach
neareft upon the whole. The hindoo places his happinefs in tranquillity undif*
turbed by paffion, in an uninterrupted enjoyment of ferenity and pleafure. He
breathes voluptuoufnefs : he floats on a fea of pleafing dreams, and exhilarating
fragrance. On the other hand, what are the objefts of our luxury ? for what
does it difturb the whole World, and plunder ever quarter of the Globe ? New
and pungent fpices for a blunted palate ; foreign fruits and food, which are
often jumbled together in fuch a medley, that we cannot tafte their proper fla-
vour; intoxicating liquors, that bereave us both of our fenfes and our peace;
whatever can be invented to exhauft nature by exciting it, are daily the grand
aim of our lives. By thefe, conditions are diftinguiflied : by thefe, nations are
made happy.— —Happy ! Why do the poor fuffer hunger, and with benumbed
fenfes drag on a wretched life of toil and labour ? That the rich and great
may deaden their fenfes in a more delicate manner, without tafte, and probably
to the eternal nourilhment of their brutality. * The curopeans eat every thing,'
fays the hindoo, whofe more exquifite fmell revolts at the mere eflluvia of
what they fwallow. According to his ideas, he can rank them only in the caft
of the pariars, who, as a mark of fupreme contempt, are allowed to eat what
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19% PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VHI.
they pleafe. In many countries, too, the mohammedans call the europeans
unclean beafts j and this not merely from religious antipathy.
It can hardly be poffible, that Nature (hould have given us a tongue, in oider
that the gratification of a few papillas on it Ihould be the aim of a laborious
life, or the caufe of wretchednefs to others. She endowed it with the Icnfe of
tafte, partly to fweeten the duty of fatisfying the calls of hunger, and enticing
us to labour by more pleafing motives : and partly alfo to be the fcrupulous
guard of our health ; but this it has long ceafed to be in all nations addidted to
luxury. The cow knows what is falutary for herfelf, and felefts her food with
apprehenfive caution : noxious and poifonous plants (lie avoids, and is feldom
miftaken. Men, who live among beafts, can difcriminate their food like them;
but lofe this faculty, when they come to alTociate with mankind, as the indians,
who relinquifli the fimplicity of their diet, lofe the purity of their fmell. Nations,
that enjoy healthful freedom, ftill poflefs much of this ffuiding fenfc. They
feldom or never err with refpeft to the produ(fls of their own country : nay,
the north-american can trace his enemy by the fmell, and by this the carib dif-
tinguiflies the footfteps of different nations. Thus man may heighten his moft
fenfual, his animal powers, by cultivating and exercifing them : but the highcft
perfeftion of them confifts in a due proportion of them all, adapted to a truly
human life, fo that no one be loft, and no one predominate. This proportion
varies with country and climate. The inhabitant of hot countries eats with
ea%tT appetite food to us highly difgufting : for his nature requires it, as a me-
dicine, as an antidote *.
Laftly, the fight and hearing are the nobleft fenfes, for which man is particu-
larly formed by his organization ; for in him the organs of thefe fenfes are more
artfully conftrufted, than in any other animal. How acute have the fight and
hearing been rendered by many nations ! The calmuc fees fmoke, where nothing
can be perceived by an european eye : the (hy arab hears ids around in his
filent defert. If thefe acute and fine fenfes be exercifed with unremitting at-
tention, the confequence is obvious : for we fee in many nations how far prac-
tice can carry a man beyond the unprafVifed, even in the moft trifling things.
People who live by hunting know every tree and bufli in their country : the
north-americans never lofe their way in their forefts : they travel in queft of their
enemies hundreds cf miles, and return again to their huts. Dobritzhofer in-
forms us, that the civilized guaranies imitate with aftonifliing exaftncfs any piece
* Wilfon's Obfervations on the Influence of Climate, p. 93« &c.
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Chap. I.J Appetites of the human Species vary with Form and Climate. 195
of delicate workmanfhip, that is (et before them» but verbal defcriptions con-
vey fcarcely any ideas to their minds : this is the natural confequcnce of their
education, in which the underftanding is formed by prefent vifible objefts, not
by words ; while on the other hand men taught by words have often heard fo
much, that they are incapable oi feeing what is before their eyes. The under-
ftanding of the free fon of Nature is divided as it were between the eye and
the ear : he knows with accuracy the objefts he has feen, he relates with precifion
the tales he has heard. His tongue ftammers not, as his arrow deviates not
from it's mark : for how fliould his mind err, or hefitate, with rcfpeft to what
it has feen and heard with precifion ?
Nature has dilpofed things well for a creature, the firft buds of whofe under-
ftanding and well-being arife only from the perceptions of the fenfes. If our
bodies be found, if our fenfes be well-ordered and exercifed ; the foundations
of a ferenity and internal fatisfaftion are laid, the lofs of which fpeculative rea-
fon cannot eafily repair. The ground of man's phyfical happinefs every where
confifts in his living where it is his lot to live, enjoying what is fet before him,
and perplexing himfelf as little-as poflible with provident or retrofpedlive care»
If he confine himfelf to this point, he is vigorous and tranquil : but if, while he
ftiould enjoy and think only on the prefent, he fuffer his thoughts to wander,
liow docs he diftrad and enfeeble himfelf, often leading a more painful life than
the brute, happily reftrided to a narrower (phere ! The free child of Nature
contemplates his parent, and is enlivened, without knowing it, by the fight of
her garb ; or he follows his occupations, and, while he enjoys the revolving fea-
fons, fcarcely grows old with any increafc of days. His ear, undifturbed by im-
perfeft thoughts, and unperplcxed by written fymbols, hears perfeftly what it
hears : it eagerly takes in words, which, indicating determinate objefts, are more
fatisfaftory to the mind than volumes of barren abftradt terms. Thus
lives, thus dies the favage ; fatisfied, but not glutted, with the fimple pleafures,
that his fenfes enable him to enjoy.
But Nature has conferred another beneficent gift on our (pecies, in leaving
to fuch of it's members as are leaft ftored with ideas the firft germe of fuperiour
fcnfe, exhilarating mufic. Before the child can fpeak, he is capable of fong, or
at leaft of being affected by mufical tones ; and among the moft uncultivated
nations mufic is the firft of the fine arts, by which the mind is moved. The
pidturcs, which Nature exhibits to the eye, are fo various, changeable, and ex-
tenfive, that imitative tafte muft long grope about, and feek the ftriking in wild
and monftrous produftions, ere it learns juftnefs of proportion. But mufic,
however rude and fimple, fpeaks to every human hearts and this, with the dance.
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194 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIII.
conftitutes Nature's general feftival throughout the Earth. Pity it is, that
moft travellers, from too refined a tafte, conceal fix)m us thefe infantile tones of
foreign nations. Ufelefs as they may be to the mufician, they are inftrudkive
to the inveftigator of man : for the mufic of a nation, in it's moft impcrfeft
form, and favourite tunes, difplays the internal charafter of the people, that is
to fay, the proper tone of their fenfations, much more truly and profoundly,
than the moft copious defcription of external contingencies.
The more in general I trace the whole fenfibility of man, in his various re-
gions and ways of life, the more do I find Nature every where a kind parent.
Where an organ is lefs capable of being gratified, ßie excites it lefs, and leaves
it for ages in a gentle ilumber : where (he has refined and expanded an organ,
flie has difpofed means to gratify it fully ; fo that the whole Earth, with this
checked or heightened organization of man, founds to her ear as a wcU-tuncd
inftrument, from which every poffible note is, or will be, produced.
CHAPTER II.
Tie human Fancy is every %viere organic and climatic^ but it is every where led by
Tradition.
Of a thing that lies without the fphere of our perception we know nothing :
the ftory of a king of Siam, who confidered ice and fnow as non-entities, is in a
thoufand inftances applicable to every man. The ideas of every indigenous
nation are thus confined to it's own r^ion : if it profefs to underftand words
expreiling things utterly foreign to it, we have reafon to remain long in doubt
of the reality of this underftanding.
* The greenlanders,' fays the worthy Cranz *, * are fond of hearing tales of
Europe ; but they can comprehend nothing unlefs illuftrated by fome compa-
rifon. " The town, or the country," for inftance, " has fo many inhabitants,
that feveral whales would hardly fufHce to feed them a day : they do not eat
whales, however, but bread, which grows out of the ground like grafs, and the
flelh of animals that have horns ; and they are carried about on the backs of
large ftrong beafts, or drawn along by them upon a wooden ftage." On hear-
ing this, they call bread, grafs j oxen, reindeer ; and horfes, great dogs ; are ftruck
-with admiration, and exprefs a wifli to live in fuch a fine fruitful country, till
• Ce/cb. von CrctnUuul, * HiHory of Greenland, p. 225.
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Cha?« IL] Human Fancy every where organic and climatic, 195
they are informed, that it frequently thunders, and no fcak arc to be procured
there. Tlicy willingly hear of God and divine things, alfo, as long as you do
not contradia their fuperftitious feibles.* From the fame author * I will com-
pofe a catechifm of their theologico-natural philofophy, fliowing, that they can
neither anfwer nor comprehend european queftion?, otherwife than according
to the circle of their own conceptions,
Queßion, Who created Heaven and Earth, and every thing that you fee ?
Anfwer, That we cannot tell. We do not know the man. He muft have
been a very mighty man. Or elfc thefe things always were, and will always re-
main fo.
Q, Have you a foul ?
A, O yes. It can increafe and 4ecrea(e : our angekoks can mend and re-
pair it : when a man has loft his foul, they can bring it back again : and they
change a fick foul for a frefli found one from a hare, a rein-deer, a bird, or a
young child. When we go a long journey, our foul often ftays at home. At
night, when we are alleep« it wanders out of the body : it goes a hunting,
dancing, or vifiting, while the body lies ftill.
Q. What becomes of it after death ?
A. Then it goes to the happy place at the bottom of the fea. Tomgarfuck
and his mother live there. There it is always fummer, bright funfhine, and no
night : and there, too, is good water, with plenty of birds, fiflies, feals, and rein-
deer, all of which may be caught without any trouble, or taken out of a great
kettle ready boiled.
42. And do all men go thither ?
A, No: only good people, who were ufeful workmen, have done great
actions, caught many whales and feals, endured much, or been drowned at fea,
died in the birth, &c.
<?. How do thefe get thither?
A. Not eafily. They muft fpend five days or more in fcrambling down a
bare rock, which is already covered with blood.
Q. But do you not fee thofe beautiful heavenly bodies ? Are not they more
probably the place of our future abode ?
A, It is there, too, in the higheft Heaven, far above the rainbow ; and the
journey thither is fo quick and eafy, that the foul can repofe the fame evening
in his houfe in the moon, which was once a greenlander, and dance and play at
bowls with the other fouls. Thofe northern lights are the fouls playing at bowls
and dancing.
• Sea. V. VI.
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19« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book Vin,
Q. And what do they there befides ?
A. They live in tents, by a vaft lake, in which are multitudes of fifhes and
birds. When this lake overflows, it rains upon Earth ; if the banks were to
break down, it would caufe an univerfal deluge. — But in general only the vile
and worthlefs go to Heaven ; the diligent go to the bottom of the fea. Thofe
fouls muil often fufTer hunger, are lean and feeble, and can have no reft for the
quick turning round of the /ky. Bad people and forcerers go thither : they are
tormented by ravens, which they cannot keep out of their hair, &c.
Q. What do you believe was the origin of mankind ?
A. The firft man, Kallak, came out of the earth, and his wife fix)n after came
cut of his thumb. She bore a greenland woman, and the woman bore Kai/unaf,
that is, foreigners and dogs : hence both dogs and foreigner» are iacontincnt
and prolific.
Q. And will the world endure for ever ?
J. Once already it has been overwhelmed, and every body drowned, except
one man. He ftruck the earth with his ftaff, a woman came out, and they re-
peopled the World. It now refts on it's fupporters, but they are fo rotten with
age, that they often crack ; fo that it would long ago have Men down, if our
angekoks were not continually repairing them.
Q. But what think you of thofe beautiful ftars !
A. They were all formerly grcenlandcrs, or beafts, who have travelled up
thither on particular occafions, and appear pale or red according to the difference
of their food. They that you fee there meeting are two women vifiting each
other : that (hooting ftar is a foul gone on a vifit : that great ftar (the Bear) is
a rein-deer: thofe feven ftars are dogs hunting a bear: thofe (Orion's belt)
are men who loft themfelves hunting feals, could not find the way home, and
fo got among the ftars. The Sun and Moon are a brother and fifter, Malina^
the fifter, was affaultcd by her brother in the dark : (he endeavoured to efcape
by flight, afcended into the iky, and became the Sun : Anninga purfued her, and
became the Moon. The Moon is continually running round the vii^gin Sun, in
hopes to catch her, but in vain. When he is weary and exhaufted (in the laft
quarter) he goes feal hunting, at which he continues fomc days, and then he
returns again as fat as we fee him in the full Moon. He is glad when womea
die, and the Sun is pleafed at the death of men.
I (hould be little thanked for my trouble, were I to go on thus exhibiting
the fancies of various nations. If any one fhould be found defirous of travelling
through thefc realms of imagination, the true Limbo of vanity, which extend to
every part of the World, 1 wifla he may be endued with the fpirit of calm obfer-
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Chap. II.] Human Fancy every where organic and climatic. 197
vation» which, free from all hypothefes of the defcent and fimilitude of nations,
(hall be in all places as it were at home, and know how to render every folly of
our fellow-creatures inftruftive. For my part, I have only to extraft fome ge-
neral obfervations from this kingdom of living Ihadows formed by mufing
nations.
1. Climates and Nations are univerfally marked in it. Compare the greenland
mythology with the Indian, the laplandic with the japanefe, the peruvian with
that of Negroland j a complete geography of the inventing mind. If the Vo-
lufpa of the Icelander were read and expounded to a bramin, he would fcarcely
be able to form a fmgle idea from it j and to the Icelander the Vedam would be
equally unintelligible. Their own mode of reprefenting things is the more
deeply imprinted on every nation, becaufe it is adapted to themfelves, is fuit-
able to their own earth and fky, fprings from their mode of living, and has been
handed down to them from fcither to fon. What is moft aftonifhing to a
foreigner they believe they moft clearly comprehend ; he laughs at things, on
which they are moft ferious. The indians fay, that the deftiny of a man is
written on his brain, the fine lines of which reprefent the illegible letters of the
book of Fate : the moft arbitrary national ideas and opinions are frequently fuch
brain-drawn pidkures, lines of the fancy moft firmly interwoven with both body
and mind.
2. Whence is this ? Have all thefe tribes of men invented their own mytho*
logy, and thus become attached to it as their own property ! By no means,
Tliey have not invented, but inherited it. Had they produced it themfelves,
their own refleftion might have carried them from the bad to better, which has
not been the cafe. When Dobritzhofer * reprcfented to a whole tribe of brave
and intelligent abiponians, how ridiculous it was in them, to be terrified at the
menaces of a conjuror, who threatened to turn himlelf into a tiger, and whofe
claws they fancied they already felt : * you daily kill real tigers in the field,' faid
he to them, * without being afraid ; why are you alarmed in fuch a daftardly
manner at an imaginary one, that does not exift ?' * You, father,' anfwered a
valiant abiponian, * have no accurate ideas of our affairs. The tigers in the
field we fear not, becaufe we fee them : there we kill them without difficulty.
The artificial tigers we dread, becaufe we cannot fee them, and confequently are
unable to kill them.'
This, I conceive, is the key of the myftery. Were all notions as clear to us,
as thofe we acquire by the fight ; had we no other ideas, than thofe which we
• UiftoF/ of the Abiponians, Vol. I.
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19» PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoaKVIU.
derive from vifual objefts, or can compare with them j the fource of errourand
deception would be flopped, or at leaft foon difcoverable. But at prefent moft
national fiftions fpring from verbal communications, and arc inftilled Into the
ear. The ignorant child liftens with curiofity to the tales, which flow into his
mind like his mother milk, like choice wijie of his father, and form it's nutri-
ment. They fcem to him to explain what he has feen : to the youth they ac-
count for the way of life of his tribe, and ftamp the renown of his ancefliors :
the man they introduce to the employment fuited to his nation and climate, and
thus they become infeparable from his whole life. The greenlander and tun-
goofe fee in reality all their lives only what they heard of in their infancy, and
thus they believe it to be evidently true. Hence the timid praftices of {o
many nations, even far remote from each other, in cclipfes of the Sun or Moon:
hence their trembling belief in fpirits of the air, fea, and other elements.
Wherever there is motion in nature ; wherever any caufe (eems to ezift and
produce change, without the eye being able to difcoverthö laws, by which the
change is effefted ; the ear hears words, which explain to it the myftery of
what is feen, by fomething unfeen. The ear is in general the moft timorous»
the moft apprehenfivq, of all the fenfes : it perceives quickly but obfcuiely : it
cannot retain and compare things, fo as to render them clear, for it's objedt
haften to the gulf of oblivion. Appointed to awaken the mind, it can feldom
acquire clear and fatisfaftory information, without the aid of the other fcnfcs,
particularly the eye.
3. Thus it appears among what people the imagination is moß highfyßrmned^
among thofe namely, who love folitude, and inhabit the wild regions of nature^
deferts, rocks, the ftormy Ihores of the fea, the feet of volcanoes, or other mov-
ing and aftonilhing fcenes. From the remoteft times the deferts of Arabia
have foftered fublime conceptions, and they who have cherißied them have been
for the moft part folitary, romantic men. In folitude Mohammed began his
Koran : his heated imagination rapt him to Heaven, and Ihowed him all the
angels, faints, and worlds : his mind was never more inflamed, than when it de-
pifted the thunders of the day of rcfurreftion, the laft judgment, and other
immenfe objefts. To what extent has the fuperftition of the (hamans fprcad
itfelf ! From Greenland and the three Laplands, over the whole benighted
coaft of the Frozen Ocean, far into Tatary, and almoft throughout the whole of
America. Magicians every where appear, and fearful images of nature every
where form the world in which they dwell. Thus more than three fourths of
the Globe receive this faith : for even in Europe moft nations of flnnilh or flavian
ori^n are ftill addifted to the forceries of the worfhip of Nature, and the fuper-
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Chat. IL] Human Fancy every where organie and climatic. i J9
ftition of the negroes is nothing but (hamanifm moulded to their genius and
climate. In äie polifhed countries of Aiia» indeed» this is fuppreffed by po*
fitive, feftitious religion, and political inftitutions : yet it is difcernible, wherever
it can peep out, in folitude, and among the populace ; till on ibme of the iflands
in the South-Sea it again rules with powerful fway. Thus the worfliip of Na»
ture has gone round the Globe, and it's reveries have feized on thofe local ob-
jefts of power and alarm, on which human wants confine. In ancient times
it was the worfliip of almoil all the nations upon Earth.
4. ^hat the way of life and genius of each nation have powerfully cooperated in
thisy fcarcely requires to be mentioned. The fliepherd beholds nature with
difFerent eyes from thofe of the fiflierman or hunter : and again, in every re-
gion thefe occupations differ as much as the charafter of the people, by whom
they are exercifed. I was aftoniflicd, for inftance, to obferve in the mythology
of the kamtfchadales, dwelling fo far to the north, a lafcivioufnefs, that might
have been more naturally expefted from a fouthern nation : but their climate
and genetic charafter afford us fome explanation of this anomaly *. Their
cold land is not without burning mountains and hot fprings: benumbing
cold and melting heat there contend againft each other ; and their difTolute
manners, as well as their grofs mythological tales, are the natural offspring of
the two. The fame may be faid of the fables of the paffionate, talkative negro,
which have neither beginning nor end -f : the fame of the fixed concife my-
thology of the north-american % : the fame of the flowery reveries of the
hindoo §, which breathe, iike himfelf, the voluptuous eafe of Paradife* The
gods of the laft bathe in fcas of milk and honey : his goddefles repofe on cool-
ing lakes, in the cups of fragrant flowers. In fliort, the mythology of every
people is an expreflion of the particular mode, in which they viewed nature j
particularly whether from their climate and genius they found good or evil to
prevail, and how perhaps they endeavoured to account for the one by means
of the other. Thus even in the wildtft lines, and worft-conceived features, it
is a philofophical attempt (Ä the human mind, which -dreams ere it awakes,
and willingly retains it's infant flate.
5. Men generally confider the angekoks, conjurers, magicians, fhamans, and
prieft:s, as the inventors of thefe tales, to blind the people j and think they have
explained the whole, when they call them deceivers. That they are fo in mofl
places is very true : but let it be remembered, that they alfo are people, and
• See Steiler, Krafcheninikow, Ut, % See Lafiteaa, le Beio» Ctnrer, kc.
t See Roemer, Boflmann, Mueller, Oldca- i Baldens» Dow, Soan?rat, Holwcll» &c«
dorp> &c»
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MO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIH.
the dupes of tales older than themfelves. They were bom and brought up
amid the imaginations of their tribe : their confecration was attended with
failing, folitude, intenfion of the fancy, and exhauftion of body and mind ; fo
that no one became a conjurer, till his familiar had appeared to him, and the
bufinefs was firft accompliflbed in his own imagination, which he aftenvards
carried on during his whole life for others, with repetition of fimilar exaltations
of the mind, and debilitations of the body. The cooleft travellers have been afto-
niflied by many juggling tricks of this kind, feeing fuch effefts of the power
of imagination, as they could fcarcely have believed poffible, and often knew
not how to explain. Of all the powers of the human mind the imagination has
been leaft explored, and is probably the moft inexplicable : for, being connedkcd
with the general ftrufture of the body, and with that of the brain and nen^es
in particular, as many wonderful difeafes fliow, it feems to be not only the
band and bafis of all the finer mental powers, but the knot, that ties body and
mind together j the bud, as it were, of the whole fenfual organization, expand-
ing to the higher ufe of the thinking faculties. Thus it is neceflarily the firll,
that defcends from parents to children; as many inftances of deviation from
the courfe of nature, and the undeniable fimilitude of the external and internal
organization, even in the moft accidental circumftances, fufficiently prove.
It has long been queftioned, whether there be innate ideas: and in the com-
mon acceptations of the words the anfwer muft certainly be in the negative.
But if we undcrftand them to fignify a predifpofition to receive, conneA, and
expand certain ideas and images, nothing appears to make againft the affirma-
tive, and every thing for it. If a child can inherit fix fingers, if the family of
the porcupine-man in England could derive from their parent his unnatural ex-
crefcences, if the external form of the head and face be often tranfmitted, as
it evidently is, from father to fon ; would it not be ftrange, that the form of
the brain, perhaps even in it's fineft organic divifions, (hould not be hereditary
likewife ? Difeafes of the imagination, of which we have no idea, prevail in
many nations: and all the countrymen of thofe, who are fo affe&ed, compaf-
fionate them, becaufe they feel in themfelves the genetic difpofition to the
fame difeafe. Among the valiant abiponians, for inftance, a periodical mad-
nefs prevails, of which the madman has no confcioufnefs in the intervals : he is
in health, as he was before, only his foul, they faj^ is gone out of him. In
many nations, in order to give vent to this evil, dream-feafts have been efta-
bliflied, in which the vifionaries are permitted to do whatever comes into their
minds. Dreams, indeed, are of aftonifhing force among all people of warm
imaginations; nay probably they were the firft mufes, the parents of pcctjry
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Chap. IL] Human Fancy every where organic and climatic, 201
and fiftion. They introduced men to forms and things, which no eye had
feen, but the defire of which lay in the human mind : for what could be more
natural, than that the beloved dead (hould appear in dreams to thofe ihcy left
behind, and that they, who had lived fo long with us awake, might now wifli
to live with us at leaft as (hades in a dream ? The hiftory of nations will (how,
how Providence has employed the inftrument of imagination, by which man
might be adbed upon fo powerfully, (imply, and naturally : but it is horrible,
when deceit or defpotifm abufes it, and renders fubfervient to it's purpofes that
ocean of human fancies and dreams^ which no one has yet been able to
fubdue.
Great Spirit of the World, with what eyes doft thou contemplate all the (ha-
dowy forms and vi(ions, that courfe each other on this our globe ! for we are
fliadows, and dreams of (hadows are all that our fancies imagine *. As little as
we are capable of refpiring pure air, as little can pure reafon impart itfclf wholly
at prefent to our compound clay-formed (hell. Yet, amid all the errours of the
imagination, the human fpecies is moulding to it : men are attached to figures,
becaufe they exprefs things j and thus through the thickeft clouds they feek
and perceive rays of truth. Happy the chofen few, who proceed, as far as is
poffible in our Imiitcd fpheio, from fancies to eflences, that is from infancy to
manhood, and whofc clear ixndcrftandings go through the hiftory of their bre-
thren with this end in view« The mind nobly expands, when it is able to
emerge from the narrow circle, which climate and education have drawn round
it, and learns from other nations at leaft what may be difpenfed with by man.
How much, that we have been accuftomed to con(ider as abfolutely neceflary,
do we find others live without, and con(cquently perceive to be by no means
indifpenfable ! Numberlefs ideas, which we have often admitted as the moft
general principles of the human underftanding, difappear, in this place and that,
with the climate, as the land vani(hes like a mift from the eye of the naviga-
tor. What one nation holds indifpenfable to tlie circle of it's thoughts, has
eever entered into the mind of a fecond, and by a third has been deemed inju*
rious. Thus we wander over the Earth in a labyrinth of human fancies : but
the qucftion is ; where is the central point of the labyrinth, to which all our
wanderings may be traced, as refradled rays to the Sun ?
* Ti ^£ Tiff ; Ti ^* ouTif ;
Zxiaff 'cM^ ftVd^wTtfi. X. r. X. Pindar. F.
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loz PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookVIIL
CHAPTER III.
T/id praBical Underßanding of the hitman Species has every wiete grotvn up under
the I funis of Life y hut every where it is aBloffom of the Genius of the People^ a
Son of Tradition and Cußom.
It has been cuftomary, to divide the nations of the Earth into hunters, fiflier-
men, fliepherds, and hufbandmen ; and not only to determine their rank in ci-
vilization from this divifion, but even to coniider civilization itielfasa neceflary
confequence of thb or that way of life. This would be very excellent, if thefe
modes of life were determined themfelves in the firft place : but they vary with
almoft every region, and for the moft part run into each other in fuch a manner,
that this mode of claffification is very difficult to apply with accuracy. The
greenlander, who ftrikes the whale, purfues the reindeer, and kiUs the feal, is
occupied both in hunting and fifhing ; yet in a very different manner from
that, in which the negro fiOres, or the araucoan hunts on the deferts of the
Andes. Tlie bedouin and the mungal, the laplander and the peruvian, are
fliepherds: but how greatly do they differ from each other, while one paftures
his camels, another his horfes, the third his reindeer, and the laft his pacoes and
llamas. The merchants of England differ not more from thofe of China, than
the hufbandmen of Wliidah from the huCbandmen of Japan.
Want alone, even when there is no deficiency of powers in a nation to obey
it's demands, feems equally incapable of producing civilization : for as (bon as
the Indolence of man has rendered him contented under his Neceffities, and
both together have oegotten the child he names Convenience, he perfifts in
his condition, and cannot be impelled to improve it without difficulty. Other
caufes cooperate to determine the mode of life of a i)eople : but let us at prc-
fent confider it as fixed, and inquire what aflive powers of the mind aredifplayed
in it's various forms.
Men who live on roots, herbs, and fruits, will remain inadive, and their
faculties will continue limited, if fome particular motives do not impel them
to civilization. Born in a fine climate, and defcended from a gentle race,
they are gentle in their lives : for why (hould contention take place among
men, on whom bountiful Nature beftows every thing without toil ? Their arts
and inventions, too, extend only to their daily wants. The iflanders, whom
Nature feeds with vegetable produftions, particularly the falubrious bread-
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Chap. III.] Human Underß^mding a Son of tradition andCußom. 203
fruit, and clothes in a delightful climate with the rind of trees, lead a tranquil
happy life. Birds, we are told, fat on the flioulders of the natives of the Ladrone
iflands, and fang undifturbed : with the ufe of the bow they were unac-
quainted, for no beaft of prey obliged them, to have recourfe to w eapons of
defence. They were ftrangers to fire, alfo; for the mildnefs of their climate
rendered it unneceiTary. The fame might be faid of the people of the Caroline
and other happy iflands in the fouthern ocean ; only in fome of them fociety
had arrived at a higher degree of civilization, and more arts and manufaftures
liad arifen from various caufes. Where the climate was lefs temperate, men
"were neceffitated to live more hardly, and with lefs fimplicity. The new-
hollander purfues his opofTum and kanguroo, (hoots birds, catches fi(h, and
eats yams : he has united as many ways of life as his rude convenience required,
till he had rounded them as it were into a circle, in which he could live happily
after his faflhion. It is the fame with the new-caledonian and new-zealander ;
nor muft we except even the miferable inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego. They
had their canoes of bark, bows and arrows, bafkets and pitchers, huts and fire,
clothes and hatchets \ and confequently the commencement of all the arts, by
means of which the moft enlightened nations upon Earth have attained their
prefent civilization ; only with them, under the prelTure of benumbing cold,
and amid their dreary rocks, every thing has remained in the rudefl flate. The
californian difplays as much underftanding, as his country and way of life afford
or require. So does the native of Labradore, and of every country on the mofl
barren verge of the earth. Every where men have reconciled themfelves to
nccefSty, and fh)m hereditary habit live happy in the labours, to which they
are compelled. What makes not a part of their wants they defpife : aftively as
the efkimaux plies his oar, he has not yet learned to fwim.
On the great continents of our globe men and beafts crowd more together j
and in confequence brutes have contributed in various ways, to exercife the
human intelleä. The inhabitants of many morafles in America^ indeed, have
been obliged to have recourfe to fnakes and lizards, to the iguana, the arma«
dillo, and the alligator : but mofl nations have been hunters in a nobler mode.
What does a north or fouth-american require, to fit him for the way of life, to
which he is deflined ? He knows the beafb of his chace, their abodes, manners,
and artifices, and arms himfelf againfl them with ftrength, addrefs, and exer-
cife. The boy is educated, to afpire to the fame of a hunter j as the fon of a
greenlander, to feek renown by catching feals : this forms the fubjeft of the
difcourfe, the fongs, the tales of famous deeds, that meet his earsj this is rc-
prefented to his eyes in exprefTive aftions, and animating dances. From his
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204 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIII.
infancy he learns, to fabricate and employ the implements of the chace : wea-
pons are his toys, and women the objefts of his contempt ; for the narrower
the fphere of life, and the more determinate the objeft, in which perfection is
fought, the fooner will this be attained. Nothing interrupts the courfe of the
afpiring youth, but every thing tends rather to ftimulate and encourage him,
as he lives expofed to the eyes of his countrymen, in the ftate and occupation
of his father. If a man were to compofe a book of the arts of various nations,
he would find them fcattered over the whole Earth, and each flouriftiing in it^s
proper place. Here the negro kaps into the furf of a fea, into which no eu-
ropean would venture : there he climbs a tree, on which our eye can fcarcely
follow him. This filherman purfues his trade with fuch art, as if ho fafcinated
his prey : that famoiede encounters the white beat, and oppofes him fingly :
for yonder negro, uniting ftrength with addrefs, two lions are not more than
a match. The hottentot attacks the rhinoceros and hippopotamus : the in-
habitant of the Canary ifles traverfes the fteepefl rocks, leaping like a chamois
from crag to crag : the ftrong manly wife of the tibetian carries the ftrang^r
over the loftieft mountains of the Earth. The children of Prometheus, com-
pofed of the parts and inftinfts of all animals, have excelled every one of thefe
in arts and capacities, in one place or another, after having learned from them,
whatever they have acquired.
That men have learned moft of their arts from nature and animals, cannot
be doubted. \Vhy does the inhabitant of the Ladrone iflands clothe himfelf
with the bark of trees ? or the american and papoo adorn themfelvcs with
feathers ? Becaufe the former lives amid trees, and obtains from them his food j
and the elegant plumage of their birds is the moft beautiful objeft, that occurs
to the fight of the latter. The hunter clothes himfelf like the game he pur-
fues, and takes leflbns in architedure from the beaver of his lakes : others build
their huts like nefts on the ground, or, with the birds, fix them upon trees.
The beak of a bird was the model, from which men formed their arrows and
fpearsj as the figure of the canoe was taken from that of a fifh. From the
fnakc they learned the pernicious art of poifoning their weapons ; and the fin-
gularly extenfive cuftom of painting the body was equally an imitation of birds
and beafls. What ! thought man, fliall thefe be fo beautifully adorned, fo
diftinguifhingly coloured, while I bear a pale uniform ikin, becaufe my indo-
lence refufes, to prepare the covering my climate does not require? Hence he
beo^an to paint and embroider himfelf with fymmetry. Even nations, that were
not ftrangcrs to the ufe of clothes, envied the ox his horns, the bird his crefl,
the bear his tail, and made them objefts of imitation. The north-americans
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Chap. III.] Human Underßanding a Son of tradition and Cußom. io$
relate with gratitude, that ma'ize was brought to them by a bird : and the ufe of
moft mdigenous medicines was unqueftionably learned from animals. But all
thefe things required the fenfual minds of free children of Nature, who, living
with thefe animals, think themfelves not infinitely exalted above them. It is
difficult for an european in other parts of the world even to difcover, what the
natives daily ufe : after many endeavours, they are obliged to obtain the fccret
from thefe either by force or entreaty.
But man went incomparably farther, when he attraAed animals about him,
and finally brought them under his yoke. The immenfe difference between
neighbouring nations, living with or without thefe auxiliaries to their powers, is
evident. Whence came it, that America, on it's firft difcovery, was fo far behind
the old world, and the europeans could treat it's inhabitants like a flock of de-
fencelefs Iheep ? It depended not on corporal powers alone, as the examples of
all the numerous favage nations (how: in growth, in fwiftnefs, in prompt addrcfs,
they exceed, man for man, moft of the nations, that play at dice for their land
Neither was underftanding, as far as it relates to the individual, the caufe : the
amcrican. knew how to provide for himfelf, and lived happily with his wife and
children. It arofe, therefore, from art, weapons, clofe connexion, and princi-
pally from domefticated animals. Had the american poflefTed the horfe, the
warlike majefty of which he tremblingly acknowledged ; had the fierce dog,
which the fpaniard fent againft him as a fellow-foldier in the pay of his catholic
majefty, been his ; the conqueft would have been more dearly purchafed, and
at leaft a retreat to their mountains, deferts, and plains, would have remained
open to a nation of horfemen. Even now, all travellers fay, the horfe makes
the greateft difference between the american nations. The horfemen in the
northern part of America, and ftill more in the fouthern divifion of that conti-
nent, are fo fupcriour to the poor flaves of Mexico and Peru, Üiat a man would
fcarcely fuppofc them to be neighbouring fons of the fame climate. T&e for-
mer have not only maintained their freedom, but are become more manly both
in body and mind» than they were probably at the difcovery of their country.
The horfe, which the oppreffors of their brethren employed as an unconfcious
inftrument of fate, may at fome future period perhaps be the deliverer of the
whole land ; as the other domeftic animals, that have been introduced into it,
have already been in fome meafure conducive to a more comfortable life, and
may hereafter poffibly become auxiliary means of a degree of civilization
peculiar to the weft. But as all this is in the hand of Fate, to the fame Fate
muft be afcribed, what was in the nature of this quarter of the Globe, that it
was fo long unacquainted with either horfe^ afs, ox, dog, fheep, goat, hog, cat>
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io6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIII.
or camel. It had fewer kinds of quadrupeds, becaufe the land was lefs exten-
five, feparated from the old world, and in great part probably later emerged
from the bofom of the ocean than the other continents ; fo that it had fewer
to tame. The paco and llama, the camel-flieep of Mexico, Peru, and Chili,
were the only tameable and domefticated beads : for even the curopcans, with
all their underftanding, have been unable to add any to thefe, or render either the
quiqui or puma, the floth or tapir, an animal of domeftic utility.
In the old world, on the contrary, how many animals are domeflicatcd ! and
how much have they affifted the aftive mind of man ! But for the horfe and
camel, the deferts of Arabia and Africa would be inacceflible : the (hcqi and
the goat have been aids to domeftic economy ; the ox and the afs, to agricul-
ture and trade. Tlic human animal, in a ftate of fimplicity, lives in friendfhip
and fociety with thefe beafts; he treats them with kindnefs, and acknowledges
his obligations to them. It is thus the arab, thus the mungal, lives with his horfe,
the Ihepherd witli his flock, the hunter with his dogs, the peruvian with his
llama *. It is alfo generally known, that all animals fubfervient to the purpofes
of man are more ufeful, in proportion to the humanity of the treatment they re-
ceive : they learn to underftand and have an affcdtion for man : capacities and
inclinations are developed in them, which are to be found neither in the wild
animal, nor in fuch as are abufed by man, which lofe even the powers and in-
ftindls of their fpecies in ftupid fatnefs, or degraded forms. Thus man and bcaft
have improved themfclves together in a certain fj)hcrc : the praftical underftand-
ing of man has been ftrengthened and extended by the beaft j the capacity of
the beaft, by man. When we read of the dogs of the kamtfchadales,we arc al-
moft in doubt, which is the more rational creature, the kamtfchadale or his dog.
In this fphere the firft adtive exertion of the human mind ftands ftill : nay it
is difficult, for any nation accuftomed to it, to quit ; and every one particularly
dreads fubmiflion to the yoke of agriculture. Notwithftanding the fine arable
lands to be found in North-America; much as every nation values and defends
it's property ; however highly fome have been taught by europeans, to prize
gold, brandy, and certain of the conveniencies of life : ftill the tilling of the
ground, with the cultivation of maize, and a few garden vegetables, is left to the
women, as well as the whole care of the hutsj the warlike hunter could never
bend his mind, to become a gardener, fliepherd, or huft)andman. The lavage,
as he is called, prefers the aftive free life of Nature to every confideration : fur-
* Read in CJlIoa, for inftance, of the child- other nations Hve with their betfts, is fufficiently
iih joy» with which the peruvian dedicates a known /roin the accounts of various travellers,
llama to his fervice. The manner, xt which
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Ch A p. III.] Human Underflanding a Son of Tradition and Ciifiom. 207
rounded with perils, it awakens his powers, his courage, his refolution, and re-
wards him witli health in the field, with independent cafe in his hut, with re-
fpedk and honour among his tribe. He wants, he defires, nothing more : and
what addition to his happinefs could he derive from another ftate, with the ad-
vantages of which he is unacquainted, and to the inconveniences of which he
cannot fubmit ? Read the various unadorned fpeeches of thofe, whom we call
favages, and fay, whether found fcnfe and natural juftice be not confpicuous in
them. The frame of man, too, in this ftate, is as much improved, though with
a rude hand, and to few purpofes, as it is capable of being improved in it : he
is formed to a contented equanimity, and to welcome death with calmnefs, after
the enjoyment of a life of permanent health. The bedouin and abiponian arc
both happy in their condition : but the former (hudders at the thought of in-
habiting a town, as the latter does at the idea of being interred in a church
when he dies ; according to their feelings, it would be the fame as if they were
buried alive.
Even where agriculture has been introduced, it has coft fome pains, to limit
men to feparate fields, and eftablifti the diftinftion of mine and thine : many
fmall negro nations, who have cultivated their lands, have yet no idea of it j for,
fay they, the earth is common property. They annually parcel out the ground
among them, till it whh little labour, and as foon as the harveft is gathered in,
the land reverts to it's former common ftate. Generally fj^aking, no mode of
life has eflcdcd fo much alteration in the minds of men, as agriculture, com-
bined with the enclofure of land. While it produced arts and trades, villages
and towns, and, in confequence, government and laws; it neceflarily paved
the way for that frightfiil defpotifm, which, from confining every man to his
field, gradually proceeded to prefcribe to him, what alone he (hould do on it,
what alone he fliould be. The ground now ceafed to belong to man, but man
became the appcrtenancc of the ground. Soon even the confcioufnefs of powers,
that had been ufcd, was loft by their difufe : the opprefTcd, funk in cowardice
and flavery, were led from wrctchednefs and want into eftcminate. debauchery.
Hence it is, that, throughout the whole World, the dweller in a tent confidcrs
the inhabitant of a hut as a fliackled beaft of burden, as a degenerate and fe-
queftrated variety of the fpecies. The former feels pleafurc in the fcvereft want,
while fcafoned and rewarded by freedom in a6b and will : on the other hand,
the greateft dainties are poifons, when they benumb the mind, and deprive the
frail mortal of worth and independance, the fole enjoyments of his precarious
life.
Imagine not, that I feek to derogate from the value of a mode of living.
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2o8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVIIL
which Providence has employed as a principal inftrument for leading man to
civil fociety : for I myfeif cat the bread it has produced. But let juftice be
done to other ways of life, which, from the conftitution of our Earth, have been
deftined, equally with agriculture, to contribute to the education of mankind.
Land is cultivated in our manner by the fmalleft portion of the inhabitants of
the Earth, and Nature herfelf has pointed out to the reft their different modes
of living. The numerous nations, that live on roots, rice, fruits, fiflung, fowl-
ing, and hunting, the innumerable nomades, although perhaps they now pur-
chafe bread from their neighbours, or fow a little corn themfelves, and all the
nations, that cultivate land without having a fixed property in it, or by means
of their women and (laves, are not, proi>er]y fpeaking, hufbandmen : what a
fmall part of the World remains, therefore, for this artificial way of life ! If
Nature have any where attained her end, (he has attained it every where. The
pradtical underftanding of man was intended, to bloffom and bear fruit in all it's
varieties : and hence fuch a diverfified Earth was ordained for fo diverfificd a
fpecies.
CHATTER IV.
Hht Feelings and Inclinations of Men are every where conformable to their Orga-
nisation^ and the Circutnßances in which they live j but they are every where
fwayed by Cuftom and Opinion.
Self-preservation is the firft objeft of evejy exifting being: from the
grain of fand to the folar orb, every thing flrivcs, to remain what it is : for this
purpofe inftinft is impreffed on the brute i for this, reafon, the fubftitute of
inftindt, is given to man. In obedience to this law, he every where feeks food
at the impulfe of inexorable hunger : from his infancy, without knowing why
or wherefore, he ftrives to exercife his powers, to be in motion. The weary
does not call for fleep ; but lleep comes, and renoyates his exiftence i the vital
powers relieve the fick, when they can, or at leaft ftrive to remove the difeafe*
Man defends his life ^amft every thing, that attacks it ; and even without
being feivfible, that Nature has taken meafures, both within and around him,
for his fupport.
There have been philofophers, who, on account of this inftinft of felf-prefer-
vation, have claffed man with the beafts of prey, and deemed liis natural ftatc
a ftate of warfare. It is evident, there is much impropriety in this. Man, it
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Chap. IV.] Inclinations of Men conformable to their Organization^ or. 209
is true, is a robber, in tearing the fruit from the tree 9 a murderer, in killing an
animal ; and the moft cruel oppreflbr on the face of the Earth, while with his
foot, and with his breath perhaps, he deprives of life innimierable multitudes of
invifible creatures. JEvery man knows the attempts of the gentle hindoo and
extravs^nt egj'ptian philofophy, to render man a perfeftly harmlefs creature :
but to the eye cf the fpcculatift they appear to have been in vain. We cannot
look into the chaos of the elements ; and if we refrain from devouring any vifible
animal, we cannot avoid fwallowing a number of minute living creatures, in
water, air, milk, and v^etables.
But away with thefe fubtilties, and, confidering man among his brethren,let us
alk : is he by nature a beaft of prey toward his fellows, is he an unfocial being ?
By his make he is not the former i and by his birth the latter ftill lefs. Con-
ceived in the bofom of Love, and nourifhed at the bread of Affeftion, he is
educated by men, and receives from them a thoufand unearned benefits. Thus
he is aöually formed in and for fociety, without which he could neither have
received his being, nor have become a man. Infociability commences with
him, when violence is done to his nature, by his coming into coUifion with other
men : but this is no exception, as here he ads conformably to the great uni-
verfal law of felf-prefervation. Let us inquire what means Nature has invented,»
to fatisfy and reftrain him as much as poffible even here, and prevent a date
of general warfare among mankind.
I. As man is the moft artfully complicated of all creatures, fo great a variety
of genetic charaAer occurs in no other. Blind imperious inftinS: is wanting to
his delicate frame ; but in him the varying currents of thoughts and defires flow
into each other, in a manner peculiar to himfelf. Thus man, from his very nature,
will claßi but little in his purfuits with man ; his difpofitions, fenfations, and
propenfities, being fo infinitely diverfified, and as it were individualized. What
is a matter of indifference to one man, to another is an objeft of defire : and
then each has a world of enjoyment in himfelf, each a creation of his own.
2* Nature has beftowcd on this diverging fpecies an ample fps^e, the extenfivc
fertile Earth, over which the moft different climates and modes of life have
room to fpread. Here fhe has raifed mountains, there fhe has placed deferts
or rivers, which keep men feparate : on the hunter fhe has beftowed the ex-
tenfive forcft, on the fifherman the ample fea, on the fliepherd the fpacious plain.
It is not her fault, that birds, deceived by the fowler's art, fly into his net,
vherc they fight over their food, peck out each other's eyes, and contaminate
the air they breathe : for fhe has placed the bird in the air, and not in the net
of the fowler. See thofc wild fpecies, how tamely they live together ! no one
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2IO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VXIL
envies another; each procures and enjoys what he wants in peacc^ It is re-
pugnant to the truth of hiftory, to fet up the malicious difcordant difpofitioa
of men crowded together, of rival artifts, oppofing politicians, envious authors,
for the general charaöer of the fpecies : the rankling wounds of thcfc maligr
nant thorns are unknown to the greater part of mankind ; to thofc, who breathe
the free air, not the peflilential atmofphere of towns. He who maintains laws
are neceflary, becaufe otherwife men would live lawlefsly, takes for granted
what it is incumbent on him to prove. If men were not thronged together
in clofe prifons, they would need no ventilators to purify the air : were not
their minds inflamed by artificial madnefs, they would not require the rcftrain-
ing hand of correlative art.
3. Nature, too, has (hortened, as fer as (he could,, the time, that men mufl:
remain together. Man requires a long time to educate ; but then he is ftill
weak : he is a child, quickly provoked, and as eafily forgetting his anger ; oftca
difpleafed, but incapable of bearing malice. As foon as he arrives at years of
maturity, a new inftindt awakes in him, and he quits the houfe of his father..
Nature afts in this inflind : (he drives him out, to conftrudt his own neft.
And with whom does he conftruft it ? With a creature as diflimilaily (imilar
to himfelf, and whofe pa(rions are as unlikely to come into coUifion with his,
as is con(iftent with the end of their forming an union together. The nature of
the woman is different from that of the man: (he differs in her feelings, (he
differs in her aftions. Miferable he, who is rivalled by his wife, or excelled by
her in manly virtues I She was deftincd to rule him by kindncfs and condcfcen-
fion alone, which render the apple of difcord the apple of love.
I will not purfue the hiftory of the difperfion of mankind any farther : with
their divifion into different houfes and families, the foundations of new focieties,
laws, manners, and even languages, were laid. What do we learn from thefe
different, thefe unavoidable dialefts, which occur upon our Earth in fuch infi-
nite numbers, and frequently at fuch little diftance from each other ? We learn,
that the objedt of our diffufive parent was not to crowd her children together,
but to let them fpread freely. As far as it may be, no tree is permitted to de-
prive another of air, fo as to render it a ftunted dwarf, or force it to become a
crooked cripple, that it may breathe with more freedom. Each has it's place
allotted it, that it may afcend from it's root by it's own impulfe, and raife it's
flourifiiing head.
Peace, therefore, not war, is the natural ftate of mankind when at liberty :
war is the offspring of neceffity, not the legitimate child of enjoyment. In the
band of Nature it is never an end, cannibalifm itfelf even included, but here
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Chap* IV.] Inclinations of Men conformable to their Organization^ tsfr. 2 n
and there a fevere and melancholy mean, with which even the mother of all
things could not entirely difpcnfe, but which, as a compenfation, (he has em-
ployed foY* various, higher, and more valuable purpofes.
Before we proceed to the afflifting confideration of cnn^ity, let us therefore
examine delightful love : love, which extends it's fway over all the Earth,
though every where appearing in different forms.
As foon as the plant has attained its full growth, it bloffoms : thus the time
of bloffoming is regulated by the period of growth, and this by the impulfc
of the folar heat. The early or late arrival of man at maturity equally depends
on climate, and the various circumftances connefted with it. The age of pu-
berty differs aftonifliingly in different regions, and under different modes of
life. The perfian maiden marries at eight, and becomes a mother in her ninth
year : our ancient german heroines attained the age of thirty, before they
thought of love.
It is obvious to every one, how much this difference muft alter the relation
of the fcxes to each other. The eaftem virgin is a child, when (lie is married :
(he blooms eariy, and quickly fades : the maturer hu(band treats her as a child,
or as a flower. Since in thofe warmer regions the ftimulus of phy(ical defire
cot only awakes earlier in both fexes, but operates more intenfely, what ftep
couH be more natural for the man, than to abufc the fuperiority of his fex,
and endeavour to form a garden of thefe peri(hable flowers ? The con(equences
of this ftep to the human fpecies were far from trifling. It was not merely, that
the jealoufy of the hu(band conflned his numerous wives in a haram, where
their improvement could not poffibly keep pace with that of the men : but as
the females were educated from their infancy for the haram, and the fociety
of women, nay the child was frequently fold or betrothed at two years of age j
how could it be otherwife, than that the general behaviour of the man, domeftic
economy, education of children, and laftly even the fecundity of the women,
muft in time be affefted by this abufe ? It is fufficiently proved, for inftance,
that too early marriage on the part of the wife, and too powerful a ftimulus
on the part of the hu(band, contribute neither to the fertility of the fex, nor
excellence of form. Indeed the accounts of various travellers render it proba-
ble, that in feveral of thefe countries more females are adlually born than males;
and if this be tme, it may be both an effeA of polygamy, and a caufe promot-
ing it's continuance. It is certain, this is not the only cafe, in which art, and
the licentioufnefs of man, have turned Nature out of her courfe: for elfewhene
Nature maintams a pretty exadl proportion between the births of both fexes.
But as woman is the moft delicate produdbion of our Earth, and love the moft
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212 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [Book VIH.
jx)\vcrful engine, that afts throughout the whole creation, the manner» in which
women are treated» mull be the tirft critical })0!nt of diftindtion in the hiftory
of our fpecics. Every where woman has been the firft objeft of contentious
defire» and from her nature not lefs the firft failing ftone in the human
edifice.
For examples let us accompany Cook on his laft voyage. While in the So-
ciety and other iflands the female fex appeared to be wholly dedicated to the
ntes of Cytherea» fo as not only to rcfufe nothing for a nail» an ornament» a
feather» but even the huft)and was ready to barter his wife for any trifle he
wiflied to poiTefs ; the fcene completely changed with the climate and cha«
rafter of other iflanders. Where the men appeared armed with the hatchet of
war, the women were more confined to their houfes ; and the ruder manners of
the hufband rendered the wife more ftrift» fo that neither her charms nor de-
formities were expofed to the eyes of the world. There is no circumftancc,
I believe» which fo decifively (hows the charafter of a man» or a nation, as
the treatment of women. Moft nations, that acquire fubfiftence with diffi-
culty, degrade the female fex to domeftic animals» and impofe on them all the
labours of the hut : the hufband imagines bold» dangerous» manly enterprife
fufficiently excufes him from fubmitting to more trifling occupations» and
leaves thefe to his wife. Hence the extreme fubjeftion of the women in moft
fiivage nations throughout the World : and hence the little refpeft paid the
mother by her fons» as foon as they arrive at years of maturity. They arc early
initiated in perilous undertakings, fo that the fuperiority of the man is fre-
quently occurring to their minds, and a rude difpofition to toil or danger foon
takes place of a more tender affeftion. From Greenland to CafTraria this
contempt of the women prevails in all uncultivated nations; though it ap-
pears among every people, and in every particular region, in a different form.
The wife of the negro is far beneath her hufband in flavery» and at home the
wretched carib imagines himfelf a king.
But the feeblencfs of the woman feems not to have been the only chrcum-
ftance, that has rendered her fubordinate to the man ; in moft places her
greater fenfibility, her artfulnefs, and in general the more delicate mobility of
her mind, appear to have contributed to it ftill more. The afiatics, for in-
ftance, cannot conceive, how the unbounded liberty of the women, as in Eu-
rope, the feat of female empire, can fubfift without expofing the men to ex-
treme peril : with them, they are perfuaded, every thing would be in a perpe-
tual ftate of commotion» if thefe artful creatures, eafily moved» and ready to
attempt any thing, were not under reftraint. The only rcafons affigned for
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Chap.IV.] Inclinations of Men conformable to their Organization^ bk. 213
many tyrannical cuftoms are, that the women formerly brought on themfelvcs
fuch rigid Jaws by fuch or fuch an aftion, and the men were compelled to
hare rccourfe to them for their own peace and fccurity. It is thus they ac-
count for the inhuman cuftom of burning wives with their hufbands in Hin-
duftan : the life of the huiband, they fay, would never have been fafe, but for
this dreadful remedy, which impels the wife, to facrifice herfelf with him : and
when we read of the ardent paffions of the women in thofe countries, the fafci-
nating charms of the indian dancing girls, and the cabals of the haram among
the turks and perfians, we are led to think fomething of the kind not incredi-
ble. The m.en were incapable of fecuring from fparks the inflammable tinder,
which their voluptupufncfs had compofed ; aijd too weak and indolent, to un-
ravel the immenfe web of female capacities and contrivances, and turn them to
better purpofes : accordingly, as weak and voluptuous barbarians, they fought
their own quiet in a barbarous manner ; and fubjeded by force thofe, whofe
artfulnefs their underftanding was unable to fway. Read what the greeks and
aiiatics have (aid of women, and you will find materials for explaining their
fingular fate in moft warm climates. The whole, it muft be confeffed, is ul-
timately afcribablc to the men, whofe flupid brutality did not eradicate the
evil, they have fo lamely attempted to reRrain ; as appears, not only from the
hiftory of civilization, which, by a rational education, has placed woman on a
level with man, but from the example of fome uncivilized yet intelligent na-
tions. The ancient german, in his wild forefls, underftood the worth of the
female fex, and enjoyed in them the nobleft qualities of man, fidelity, prudence,
courage, and chaflity : but to this his climate, his genetic charaAer, and every
part of his way of life, contributed. He and his wife grew, like their oaks,
flowly, unexhaufled, and fbong : the flimulus of feduftion his country did
not fupply; and both the general condition and neceflity inclined each fex
to virtue. Daughters of Germany, be not infcnfible of the fame of thofe,
from whom ye are defcended, and afpire to emulate them : there are few na-
tions, on whofe females hiftory has conferred equal renown j -and there are few
nations, in which the hufband has fo honoured the virtues of the wife, as in an-
cient Germany. The women of moft nations in a fimilar flate were flaves :
your mothers were the friends and counfellors of their hufbands, and every wor-
thy woman among you is fo now.
Let us proceed to the virtues of women, as they difplay themfelves iu the
hiftory of mankind. Even among the mofl favage people the woman is diflin-
guifhed from the man by more delicate civility, and love of ornament and
decoration : and thefe qualities are difcernible, even where the nation has to
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114 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIIL
contend againft an unfriendly climate, and the mod diftreffing want. Every
where the woman adorns herfelf, however fcanty the materials (he is able to
procure. So in tlie eariy fpring the Earth, rich in life, fends forth at leafl:
a few inodorous bloffoms, to fhow what llie is capable of cfFefting in other
feafons.
Cleanlinefs is another female virtue, to which woman is impelled by nature,
and excited by her dcfire to pleafe. The regulations, nay often fupcrerogatory
laws and cuftoms, by which all unvitiatcd nations keep women when labouring
under difeafe in a ftate of feparation, that no injur}' may acrue from them, re-
fleft difgrace on many civilized people. They are in confcquence unacquainted
with a great part of the weaknefles, which among us are both the effeds, and
again new caufcs, of tliat deep degeneracy, which licentious, difeafed effeminacy
tranfmits to a wretched offspring.
The gentle endurance, the indefatigable adivlty, for which the fofter (ex,
when not corrupted by the abufes of civilization, are diftinguilhed, deferve ftill
greater commendation. They bear with refignation the yoke, that the rude
fupcriority of ftrcngth in man, his love of idlenefs and inadHon, and laftly the
faults of their anceftors, have entailed on them as an hereditary cuftom ; and
the moft perfeft examples of this are often found among the nioft wretched
people. It is not from diflimulation, that in many regions the marriageable
females muft be compelled by force to fubmit to the drudgery of the wedded
ftate : they run from their hut, they flee into the defert : with tears they put
on the bridal garland, the laft flower of their freer, playful youth. Moft of the
epithalamiums of fuch nations are meant to encourage and confole the bride,
and are compofcd in a melancholy ftrain*, at which we are apt to laugh, becaufe
we are infenfible of their innocence nnd truth. The bride takes a tender leave
of all, that was dear to her youth, quits the houfc of her parents, as one dead
to them for ever, lofes her former name, and becomes the property of a
ftranger, who in all likefihood will treat her as a flavc. She muft facrifice to
him every thing, that is moft dear to a human being, her perfon, her liberty,
her will, nay probably her life and health ; and all for the gratification of a
paflion, to which the modeft virgin is yet a ftranger, and which will foon be
drowned in a fea of inconveniences. Happy is it, that Nature has endowed
and adorned the female heart with an unfpeakably affeftionate and powerful
fenfe of the perfonal worth of man. This enables her to bear alfo his feverities :
her mind willingly turns from them to the contemplation of whatever flie con-
• See fome of them in tbe Folkslieätrn, « Popular Songs,' Vol. I, p. 33, Vol. II, p. 96-98, 104.
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Chap. IV.J IncUmtiohs of Men (onfomaHe to their Orgatdzatioft^ iäc. 215
fiders as noble, great, valiant, and uncommon in him : with exalted feelings
£he participates in the manly deeds, the evening recital of which foftens the fa-
tigue of her toilfome day, and is proud, fince (he is deft'med to obedience, that
flic has fuch a hufband to obey. Thus the love of the romantic in the female
diarafter is a benevolent gift of Nature ; a balfam for the woman, and an ani-
mating reward for the man : for the moft valuable prize of the youth was ever
the love of a maiden.
Laftly muft be mentioned that fweet maternal afiedion beftowed on wo-
man by Nature J. almoft independent of cool reafon, and far remote from
the felfifli defire of reward. The mother loves her child, not becaufe he is
amiable, but as a living part of herfelf, the child of her heart, the copy
of her nature. Hence her bowels yearn with compaffion for his fufferings ;
her heart beats higher at his happinefs ; her blood flows more placidly, while
he receives the ftream from her bread. Thefe maternal feelings pervade every
uncorrupted nation upon Earth: no climate, by which all other things are
changed, could alter this : the mod depraved cuftomsi of fociety alone can in
time perhaps render enervating vices more pleafing than the tender pains of ma^
ternal love. The grcenlander fuckles her fon three or four years, becaufe her
climate affords no food proper for infants : (lie fubmits to all the perverfitiea
arifing from the latent infolence of the future man with indulgent forbearance.
The ncgrefs difplays more than manly ftrength^ when a monfter attacks hec
child : we read with a(loni(bment infbnces of maternal magnanimity contemn-
ing life. Laftly, when the tender mother,, whom we call a favage, is deprived
of her chief confolation, the objeft of her care, and that tor which (he values
life, her feelings furpafs defcription *. How then can thefe nations be deficient
in fentiments of true female humanity, unlefs perhaps want and mournful ne-
ceflity, or a falfe point of honour and fome barbarous hereditary cuftom, occa.-
fionally lead them aftray ? The germes ot every great and noble feeling not
only exift in all places, but are univerfally unfolded, as much as the way of life,
climate, tradition, or peculiarity of the nation will permit.
If thefe things be fo^ the hufband would not remain infcriour to the wife :
and what manly virtue can we conceive, that has not found fome place of the
Earth or other, in which to flourilh ? Afpiring courage, to be a fovereign on
Earth, and to enjoy life with freedom, but not with inadlivity, is the firft virtue
of the man. This has formed itfelf moft extenfively and diverfely; as it has
been almoft every where foftercd by necefSty, and every region,, every variatioa
• See Carver'f Traveh, p. 338 &c., thelamenutions of the naudoweflec woman,, who had loff
her haftandft aad her fon of four years old.
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2i6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BooKVm.
of manners, has given it a diflFerent tum. Thus man foon fought fame in perils ;
and to furmount them was the moft precious jewel of his life. This difpofition
defcendcd from father to fon : the radiments of education promoted it, and in
a few generations the tendency became hereditary. No other man is afFeftcd
by the found of the horn, and the voice of the hound, like him who is bom a
hunter : to this the impreflions he received in his childhood contribute. Nay
frequently the countenance of the hunter, and the ftrufture of his brain, are
tranfmitted to his pofterity. It is the fame with all the other ways of life of free,
aftive nations. The fongs of a people are the beft teftimonies of their peculiar
feelings, propenfities, and modes of viewing things ; they form a faithful com-
mentary on their way of thinking and feeling, exprefled with opennefs of heart *.
Even their cuftoms, proverbs, and maxims, exprefs not fo much as thefe : but
Hill more fliould we learn from the charafteriftic dreams of a nation, if we had
examples of them, or rather if travellers would note them. In dreaming, and
at play, man exWbits himfelf juft as he really is, but in the former moft.
Paternal love is the fecond virtue, which is beft difplaycd by a manly edu-
cation. The fether early inures his fon to his own mode of life : teaches him
his art, awakens in him the fenfe of fame, and in him loves himfelf, when he
fliall grow old, or be no more. This feeling is the bafis of all hereditary honour
and virtue : it Tenders education a public, an eternal work : it has been the in-
ftrument of tranfmitting to pofterity all the excellencies and prejudices of the
human fpecies. Hence in almoft all nations and tribes the mutual joy, when
the fon arrives at manhood, and equips himfelf with the implements or weapons
of his father : hence the deep forrow of the father, when he lofes this his
proudeft hope. Read the lamentations of the greenlander for the lofs of his
fon -f , liften to the complaints of Offian on the death of his Ofcar, and in them
you will perceive the bleeding wounds of the paternal heart, the nobleft of the
manly breaft.
The grateful love of the fon to his fether is certainly but a flight return for
the affeftion, with which the father has loved his fon : but this too is the dc-
fign of Nature. When the fon becomes a father, his heart afts in the line of
defcent upon his children : the full ftream is ordained to flow downward, not
upward ; for thus only the ever growing chain of new races can be upheld. It
is not therefore to be reprobated as unnatural, if fome nations, oppiefTed by
want^ prefer the child to the decayed parent ; or, as fome accounts fay, even
• Sec the FMslinlir, « Popular Songs,' partly Vol. II, p. aio, 245.
in general, partly the DOrthern fongs in par- f Volhlitder, Vol. II, p. 128.
ticDlar, Vol. I, p, 166, 175, 177, 242, 247,
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Ch a p . IV.] InciinatiOHS of Men cmfirmahlt to tkeir OrganizatipH^ &r. 217
accelerate the death of thofe, who are worn out by age. It is not hatred, but
melancholy neceffity, or rather cool benevolence, from which this fprings : as
they cannot feed the aged, as they cannot take them with them, they choofe
rather vyith friendly hand, to beftow on them an eafy death, than leave them to
perifh by the fangs of wild beads. Cannot a friend, when impelled by neceffity,
deprive his friend of life, however painful the taik may be; and thus confer on
him, whom he is unable to &ve, the only benefit in his power ? But, that the
fame of the father lives and afts immortally in the minds of his defcendants,
appears in moft nations, from their fongs and wars, their hiftory and traditions,
and (till more efpecially from their rooted efteem for that way of life, which
they haye received as an inheritance.
Finally, common perils excite common courage: thus they knit the third
and nobleft tie oimzxiyfriindßip. In countries and modes of life, that render
union in enterprize neceffary, heroic minds are found wearing the bonds of
friendßiip through life and death. Such were thofe friends of the heroic ages
of Greece, whofe fame will live immortally : fuch were thofe renowned fey-
thians; and fuch are ftill to be found among nations addidled to hunting, war,
or adventures of any kind, amid woods and deferts. Tho hufbandman knows
only a neighbour, the mechanic a workfcllow, whom he aids or envies : the
merchant, the man of letters, the courtier — ^how remote are they from that
chofen, aftivc, tried friendihip, with which the wanderer, the prifoner, the
flave who groans with another in one chain, are much better acquainted ! In
times of need, on occafions of exigence, minds unite : the dying man calls
on his friend, to avenge his blood, and rejoices in the hope of meeting him be-
yond the grave. The friend thirfts with an unquenchable defire, to take ven-
geance for the death of him, to whom he is attached, to deliver him from
prifon, to affift him in the combat, and to (hare with him the meed of glory.
An united tribe, among little nations, is nothing but a band of fworn friends,
fcgregated from all the reft, whether in love or hatred. Such are the arabian
tribes \ fuch are many of the tatar hordes j and fuch are moft of the nations of
America. The bloodieft wars between them, which feem to difgracc huma-
nity, originally (prung from the noble fentiment of an injury done to the
honour of the tribe, or an offence committed againft it's friendftiip.
1 fliall not at prefent purfue this fubjeft through tl;e different forms of go-
vernment of the male or female fovercigns of the Earth. For, fince in all,
that has hitherto been faid, we find no grounds to explain, why one man
fliould rule over thoufands of his fellows by right of birth ; why he fliould exadt
fix>m them obedience to his will without conditions and without control, fend
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ai8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIIT,
thoufands of them to be killed without contradiftion, diflipate the wealth of
the ilate without rendering any account of it, and befide this lay the mod op-
preflive taxes precifely on the poor : lince we are flill lefs capable of deducing
from the original difpofitions of Nature, why a bold and valiant people, that is
to fay thoufands of worthy men and women, frequently kifs the feet of a weak
creature, or worfliip the fceptre, with which a madman tears their flefti from
their bones ; ftill lefs what god or demon it is, that infpires them, to fubmit their
underftanding, their abilities, nay frequently their lives, and all the rights of
man, to the will of one, and deem it their greateft joy and happinefs, that tlie
defpot (hould beget a future defpot like himfelf ; fince all thefe things appeal
at firft view the moft inexplicable enigma of human nature, and happily, or
unhappily, to the greater part of the Earth this form of government is un-
known i we cannot reckon them among the primitive, ncceffary, univerfal
laws, that Nature has impofed upon mankind. Hufband and wife, father and
fon, friend and enemy, are determinate relations and names : but the ideas of
leader and king, an hereditary Icgiflature and judge, an arbitrary fovereign and
ruler of the ftate, in his own perfon and in thofe of all his pofterity yet un-
born, require a different explanation, from what we can here beftow on them.
Let it fqffice, that we have hitherto confidered the Earth as a feminary of na-
tural fenfes and endowments^ arts and capacities, mental faculties and virtues,
in confiderable variety : but how far man is qualified, or enabled, to procure
himfelf happinefs thereby, or where tlie ftandard of happinefs is to be found,
let us now proceed to inquire.
CHAPTER V.
7 he Happinefs of Man is in all Places an individual Gcod; coufequentfy it is eveij
where climatic and organic^ the Offspring of PraäscCy Tradition^ and Cußoni,
The very name of happinefs * implies, that man is neither fufceptible of pure
blifs, nor capable of creating felicity for himfelf. He is the child of Accident,
• B-^ing denved from hap, chance. The cafual felicity of this. Our language has not
terms here contraftcd in the original zxz fäig' two words exprefling precifely the fame ideas^
ksit and ghtckftUgkeit : the former, which I have and contralled in a fimilar manner ; fo that I
rendered blifs, implies the permanent felicity am obliged to content myfelf with the term
of the other world } to this glutck, fignifying happinefs, pointing out the contingency im-
chaoce, or fortune^ is prefixed to exprefs the plied in it's derivation. T»
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Chap. V.] Happinefs an sHdiviJual Good. ai^
vho has placed him on this fpot, or on that, and determined his capacity of
enjoyment, and the kind and meafure of his joys and forrows, according to
the country, time, organization, and circumftances, in which he lives. It
would be the mod ftupid vanity to imagine, that all the inhabitants of the
World muft be europeans to live happily. Should we ourfelves have become
what we are out of Europe ? He who placed us here, and others there, un-
doubtedly gave them an equal right to the enjoyment of life. Happinefs is an
internal ftate ; and therefore it's ftandard is not featcd without us, but in the
bread of every individual, where alone it can be determined : another has as
little right to conftrain me to adopt his feelings, as be has power to impart to
me his mode of perception, and convert his identity into mine. Let us not
place, therefore, from indolent pride, or too common prefumption, the form
and ftandard of hurtian happinefs higher or lower, tlian it has been fixed by the
creator ; for he alone knows, what a mortal can attain upon Earth.
I. Our complexly organized bodies, with all their fenfes and limbs, have
been beftowed on us for ufe, for exercife. Without this our fluids ftagnate »
our organs become languid ; and the body, a living corpfe, dies long before it*s
deceafe; it pcriflies by a flow, miferable, unnatural death. If Nature, therefore,
would fccure us the firft indifpenfable foundation of happinefs, health,, (he
muft beftow on us exercife, toil, and labour, and rather compel man thereby
to a ftate of wellbeing, than leave him to difpenfe with it. Hence, as the greeks
fey, the gods fold every thing to mortals at the price of labour ; not out of
envy, but from kindnefs; for the greateft enjoyment of exiftence, the fcnfa-
tion of adlive ftriving powers, lies in this very ftruggle, in this ftriving after the
comforti of eafe. Human nature languifties only in thofe climates, or condi-
tions, in which enervating idlenefs, in which voluptuous indolence entombs the
body alive, and renders it a pallid carcafe, or a burden to itfelf ; in other coun-
tries, in other modes of life, even in the moft fevere, the moft energetic growth,
the healthieft and moft beautiful fymmetry of the limbs, prevail. Turn over
the hiftory of nations, and read what Pages fays, for example, of the make of
the chaAaws and tegaws, of the charadbers of the biflagoans, hindoos, and
arabs * : even the moft unfavourable climates make little difference in the
duration of life, and want itfelf llrengthens the cheerful fon of need for the
performance of health-giving labour. Even the mal conformations of the body,
that occur here and there upon the Earth as genetic charaÄcrs or hereditary
modes, are lefs detrimental to health, than our artificial embellifliments, our
• Voyagts d€ Pagts^ • Pages'f Travels,* p. 17, 18, 26, 52, 54, 140, 141, 156, 167, 188« &c.
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(y^^
ft20 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book VIII.
many forced unnatural ways of life : for what is a larger lobe of the ear of an
arracanefe, the eradicated beard of an eaft or weft indian, or perhaps a perfo-
rated nofe, to the ftraitencd, tortured breaft, bent knee, mifliapcn foot, dif-
torted or ricketty form, and comprefled bowels, of fo many delicate male and
female europeans ? Let us therefore thank Providence, that, as health is the
foundation of all phyfical happinefs, it is fo difiufed over the Earth. Nations»
to whom we are inclined to think Nature has played the ftep-mother, are per-
haps her inoft favoured children: for, if flic have prepared them no idle feaft
of pleafing poifons, flie has prefented to them from the hard hand of labour
the cup of health, and an internal invigorating vital warmth. Children of the
rofy mom, they bloom to the laft : a frequently carelefs ferenity, an internal
fenfation of well-being, is to them happinefs, is to them the end and enjoyment
of life : could any other, could happinefs more fwect and durable, be conferred
upon them ?
2. We boaft of the refinement of our mental powers : but let melancholy
experience teach us, that every refinement does not promote happinefs j nay,
many an inftrument becomes unfit for ufe by it^ very delicacy. Contempla-
tion, for inftance, can form the pleafure only of a few idle men : and to them,
like opium to the afiatics, it is frequently an enervating, confuming, ftupcfying,
vifionary pleafure. The waking, healthy ufe of the fenfes, an underftanding
employed about the real concerns of life, vigilant attention, accompanied with
aftive recolledlion, quick determination, and happy efFeft, alone conftitute what
we call prefcnce of mind, real mental vigour, which repa)'s itfelf with the con-
fcioufnefs of a prefent aftive power, with happinefs and joy. Think not, fons
oTmen, that a premature difproportionate refinement or cultivation is happi-
nefs J that the dead nomenclature of all the fciences, the holiday ufe of all the
arts, can (teure to a living being the {cience of life : the feeling of happinefs
is not acquired from words learned by rote, or a knowledge of the arts. A
head ftuflfed with knowledge, . even of golden knowledge, opprefles the body,
ftraitens the brtaft, dims the eye, and is a morbid burden to the life of him
who bears it. The more we divide our mental powers by refinement, the
more the inaftive powers decay : ftretched on the fcaflfold of art, our limbs and
faculties wither while difplayed with oftentation. The blefEng of health arifes
only from the ufe of the whole mind, and of it's aftive powers in particular: let
us thank Providence, therefore, for not rendering the human fpecies in general
too refined, and the Earth an auditory of the learned fciences. In moft nations
and conditions of men, the mental powers are kindly left bound together in a
£rm knot, and developed only where need requires. Mo& nations of the Earth
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Chap, v.] Happinefs an individual Good, tit
aft and think, love and hate, hope and fear, laugh and cry, like children : at
leaft, therefore, they enjoy the happinefs of the childifh dreams of infancy. Un-
happy he, who firft takes the pains, to dive beneath the furface for the happi-
nefs of life !
3. As our wellbe ng is rather a quiet feeling, than a brilliant thought; fo
our lives are embclliflied with love and joy much more from the feelings of the
heart, than from the efFefts of the moft profound uitderftanding. How good,
therefore, has our common mother been, in rendering the fource of goodwill
toward ourfelves and others, the true humanity of our fpecies, for which it wa*
created, almoft independent of motives and artificial incentives. Every living
being rejoices in his exiftence : he inquires not, he does not fcrupuloufly ex-
amine, why he exifts : his exiftence is to him an end, and his end is exiftence
No lavage^ commits filicide^ as no beaft deftroys himfelf: he propagates his
fpecies, without knowing to what purpofe ; and in the fevereft climate fubmits
to every toil and labour, merely that he may live. The fimple, rooted feeling
of exiftence, for which there is no equivalent, is happinefs, therefore: a drop
from tl e infinite ocean of the AUblifsful, who is in all, and feels and enjoys
himfelf in all. Hence that imperturbable joy and tranquillity, which many
curopcans admire in the countenances and lives of foreigners, becaufe their reft-
lefs anxiety prevents them from entertaining fimilar feelings : hence, too, that
opcnhearted benevolence, that anticipating unconftrained courtefy, which we
find in all happy nations, not compelled to defence or revenge. From impar-
tial accounts, this is fo generally diffufed over the Earth, that it might be
deemed the charafteriftic of man ; were it not, alas^ equally the charafter of his
equivocal nature, to reftrain this frank benevolence, this courteous tranquillity
and joy in himfelf and others, at the call of reafon or fancy, to guard agalnft
future want. Why (hould not a creature happy in himfelf fee others happy
about him, and endeavour what he can to promote their being fo ? But while
we ourfelves, fut»-ounded with wants, increafe our neceffitles ft ill more by our
own art and contrivance, our being is contrafted, and the clouds of diftruft,
anxiety, labour, and care, obfcure a countenance formed for cpen participating
joy. Yet even here Nature has taken the human heart in hand, and moulded
the fenfible clay in fuch various ways, that where (lie could not gratify with
giving, ftie has fought at leaft to fatisfy in refufing. The european has
no idea of the boiling paffions and imaginations, that glow in the negro's
breaft ; and the hindoo has no conception of the reftlcfs defires, that chafe the
european from one end of tlie World to the other. The favage cannot gratify his
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222 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookVIIL
paflfions in voluptuoufncfs, and therefore they incline more to compofure aod
tranquillity : on the other hand, where the flame of benevolence fcatters light
Iparks all around, it quickly kindles, and perifhes in thefe fparks. In fliort,
the human feelings have received every form, that could find a place in the
various climates, dates, and organizations of our Globe : yet every where the
happincfb of life confifts not in a tumultuous crowd of thoughts and feelings,
but in their relation to the aftual internal enjoyment of our exiflencc, and
what we reckon as part of our cxiftence. No where upon Earth does the rofc
of happinefs bloffom without thorns : but what proceeds from thefe thorns is
every where, and under all it's forms, the lovely though pcrilhable rofe of vital
joy-
If I err not, from thefe fimple data, the truths of which ever}' heart muft feel,
a few lines may be drawn, which determine at lead many doubts and miftakes con-
cerning the deftination of the human fpecies. How, for inftance, can it be, that
man, as we know him here, fliould have been formed for an infinite improvement
of his mental faculties, a progrcffive extenfion of his perceptions and adlions ?
nay, that he fliould have been made for the (late, as the end of his fpecies, and
all preceding generations properly for the lafl: alone, which is to be enthroned
on the ruined fcafiblding of the happinefs of the refl:? The fight of our fellow-
creatures, nay even the experieace of every individual life, contradids this plan
attributed to creative Providence. Neither our head nor our heart is formed
for an infinitely increafing fl:ore of thoughts and feelings j our hand is not
made, our life is not calculated for it. Do not our fined mental powers decay,
as weH as flourilh ? do they not even fluftuate with years and circumdances,
and relieve one another in friendly conted, or rather in a circular dance ? And
who has not found, that an unlimited extenfion of his feelings enfeebles and
annihilates them, while it gives to the air in loofe flocks what fliould have
formed the cord of love, or clouds the eyes of others with it's aflies? As it is
impoflible, that we can love others more than ourfelves, or in a different way ;
for we love them only as part of ourfelves, or rather ourfelves in them j that
mind is haj^py, which, like a fuperiour fpirit, embraces ntuch within the fphcre
of it's aaivifyr^nd in redlefs aÄivity deems it a part of itfelf : but miferable
b that, the feelings of which, drowned in words, are ufeful neither to itfelf nor
others. The favage, who loves himfelf, his wife, and child, with quiet joy,
and glows with limited adtivity for his tribe, as for his own life, is, in my opi-
nion, a more real being, than that cultivated fliadow, who is enraptured with
Ihe love of the fliades of his whole fpecies, that is of a name. The favage has
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Chap. V.J Happinefs an individual Good. 223
room in his poor hut for every ftranger, whom he receives as his brother with
calm benevolence, and aiks not once whence he comes^ The deluged heart of
the idle cofmopolite is a but for no one.
See we not, then, my brethren, that Nature has done all flie could, not to
diffufe, but to circumfcril)e us, and to accuftom us to the fphere of our lives?
Our fenfes and powers have their meafurc : the Hours of our days and lives
take hands only in rotation, while thofe that come relieve thofe that depart.
It is a trick of the fancy, when the old man ftill dreams, that he is a youth.
Is that concupifcence of the mind, which, forerunning even clefire, is momen-
tarily changing to difguft, the pleafure of Paradife ? Is it not rather the Hell
of Tantalus, the bottomlefs buckets of the vainly labouring Danaids ? Thy
fole art below, O man, is moderation : Joy, the child of Heaven, for whom
thou gantcft, is around thee, is in thee, the daughter 6f Temperance and
calm Enjoyment, the filler of Content and Satisfaftion with thy being in life
and death.
Still lefs comprehenfible is it, how man (hould be made for the ftate, fo that
his firft true happinefs muft neceflarily fpring from it's conftitution: for how
many people upon Earth are entirely ignorant of all government, and yet are
happier than many, who have facrificed themfelves for the good of the ftate?
I will not enter upon the benefits or mifchiefs, whicli this^rtificial form of fo-
ciety brings with it : but it may be obferved, as every art is merely an inftni-
ment, and the moft complicated inftrument neceflarily requires the moft pru-
dence and delicacy in managing it, this is an obvious confequencc, that with the
greatncfs of a ftate, and the intricate art of it's conftitution, the danger of ren-
dering individuals miferable is infinitely augmented. In large ftatcs, hundreds
muft pine wirh hunger, -that one may fcaft and caroufe ; thoufands arc op-
prefled, and hunted to death, that one crowned fool or phllolbphcr may gralif)-'
his .whims. Nay, as all politicians fay> that every well conRiiutcd Hate muft
be a machine regulated only by the will of one, what increafc of happinefs can
it beSowTto fcrve in this machine as a tlioughtlefs member ? or, probably in-
deed, contrary to our better knowledge and confcience, to be whirled round all
our lives on an Ixion's v/hccl j thdt leaves the tormented wretch no hope of
comfort, unlefs perhaps in flrangüng the adivity of his free, felf governing min J,
as a fond father would his dariing babe born to mifery ; to feck happinefs in the
infenfibility_of a machine? O, if we be men, let us thank Providence, that
This was not made the general dcftination of mankind. Millions on this Globe
live without government ; and muft not every one of us, even under the moft
cxquifitc government, if he will be happy, begin where the favagc begins»
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-24 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book vni.
fccking to acquire and maintain health of body and foundnefs of mind, the hap-
pinefs of his houfe and of his heart, not^from the ftate, but from himfelf ? Fa-
ther and mother, hufband and wife, Ton and brother, friend and man, are natural
relations, in which we may be happy : the ftate gives us nothing but inftru-
ments of art, and thefe, alas ! may rob us of fomething far more effential, maf
rob us of ourfelves.
Kindly confiderate was it therefore in Providence, to prefer the eafier happi-
ncfs of individuals to the artificial ends of great focietics, and fpare generationi^
thefe coflly machines of ftate as much as poflible. It has wonderfully feparated
nations, not only by woods and mountains, feas and deferts, rivers and climates,
but more particularly by languages, inclinations, and charafters ; that the work
.4 of fubjug,ating defpotifm might be rendered more difficult, that all the four
quarters of the Globe might not be crammed into the belly of a wooden horie.
No Nh-nrod has yet been able to drive all the inhabitants of the World into one
park for himfelf and hisfucceflbrs ; and though it has been for centuries the ob-
jeft of united Europe, to ercft herfelf into a defpot, compelling all the nations of
the Earth to be happy in her way, this happinefs-dlfpenfing deity is yet
far from having obtained her end. Weak and childilh muft our creative mother
have been, had fhe conflrufted the fole and genuine deftination of her children,
that of being happy, on the artificial wheels of fome latterlings, and cxpeded
the end of the creation from their hands. Ye men of all the quarters of the
Globe, who have perißied in the lapfe of ages, ye have not lived and enriched
the Earth with your aQies, that at the end of time your pofterity ftiould be
- A made happy by european civilization : is not a proud thought of this kind trca*
foa.agaioft.the majefty of Nature ?
If happinefs be to be met with upon Earth, it is in every fentient being, it
muft be in every one by Nature, and affifting art muft become nature in him
to produce enjoyment. Every man has the ftandard of his happinefs within
himfelf; he bears about him the form, to which he is faftiioned, and in the
pure fphere of which alone he can be happy. For this purpofe has Nature
exhaufted all the varieties of human form on Earth, that ftie might find for each
in it's time and place an enjoyment, to amufe mortals through life.
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[ ^^5 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK IX,
CHAPTER I.
Ready as Man is to imagine he produces every thing from himfelf^ he is neverthelefs
dependant on others for the Developement of his Faculties,
NO T only has the philofopher exdted human reafon to an independency
on the fenfes and organs, and the pofleffion of an original fimple power ;
but even the common man imagines in the dream of life, that he has become
every thifl^ that he is of himfelf. This imagination is eafily explained, parti-
cularly in the latter. The fenfe of fpontaneity, given him by the creator, ex-
cites him to aftion, and rewards him with the pleafmg recompenfe of a deed
performed in obedience to his own will. The days of his childhood are for-
gotten r the feeds, which he then received, and ftill daily receives, are dormant
in his mind : he fees and enjoys only the budding plant, and is pleafed with it's
flourifliing growth, with it's fruitful branches. The philofopher, however, ^;^^io
ftudies the origin and progrefs of a man's life in the book of Experience, and
can trace through hiftory the whole chain of the formation of our fpecies, muft,
I think, as every thing brings dependence to his mind, foon quit his ideal
world, in which he feels himfelf alone and allfufEcient, for our world of reali-
ties.
As man at his natuRil birth fprings not from himfelf, equally remote is he
from being felfborn in the ufe of his mental faculties. Not only is the germe
of our internal difpofition genetic, as well as our bodily frame, but every deve-
lopement of this germe depends on fate, which planted us in this place or in
that, and fupplied us with the means by which we were formed, according to
time and circumftances. Even the eye mull learn to fee, the ear to hear ; and
no one can be ignorant with what art language, the principal inflrument of
our thought, is acquired. Nature has evidently calculated our whole mc-
chanifm, with the condition and duration of each period of our lives, for this
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226 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
foreign aid. The brain of infants is foft, and fufpcndcd from the fcuU : it's
ftrata are flowly formed ; it grows firmer with increafing years, and gradually
hardens, till at length it will receive no more new impreffions. It is the lame
with the organs and with the faculties of a child : thofc are tender, and formed
for imitation ; thefe imbibe what they (ee and hear with wonderfully aftivc
attention, and internal vital power. Thus man is an artificial machine, en*
dued with a genetic difpofition, it is true, and plenitude of life; but the ma-
chine does not work itfelf, and the abldl of mankind mufl learn how to work it.
^ Reafon is an aggregate of the experiences and obfervations of the mind, the fum
of the education of man, which the pupil ultimately finifhes in himfelf, as an
extraneous artift, after certain extraneous models.
In this lies the principle of the hiftory of mankind, without which no fuch
hiftory could exift. Did man receive every thing from himfelf, and develope
every thing independantly of external circumftances, we might have a hiftory
of an individual indeed, but not of the fpecies. But, as our fpeciüc charaäer
lies in this, that, born almoft without inftintä, we are formed to manhood only
by the praftice of a whole life, and both the perfeftibility and corruptibility
of OUT fpecies depend on it, the hiftory of mankind is neceffarily a whole,
that ife a chain of focialnefs and plaftic tradition, from the firft Hnk to the
laft.
There is an education, therefore, of the human fpecie&i fmce every one be-
comes a man only by means of education, and the whole fpecies lives folely in
this chain of individuals. It is true, fhould any one (ky, that the fpecies is
educated, not the individual, be would fpeak unintelligibly to my comprehen-
iion ; for fpecies and genus are only abftrad: ideas, except fo far as they exift in
individuals : and were I to afcribe to this abftrad idea all the perfcftions of hu-
man nature, the higheft cultivation, and moft enlightened intelleft, that an ab-
fteift idea will admit 5 I ihould have advanced as far towards a real hiftory of
our fpecies, as if I were to Ipeak of animalkind, ftonekind, metalkind, in gene-
ral, and decorate them with all the nobleft qualities, which could not fubfift
together in one individual.
Our philofophy of hiftory ftiall not wander in this path of the averroean
fyftcm, according to which the whole human fpecies pofleffes but one mind ;
and that indeed of a very low order, diftributed to individuals only piecemeal.
On the other hand, were I to confine every thing to the individual, and deny
the exiftence of the chain, that connefts each to others and to the whole, I
öiould run equally counter to the nature of man, and his evident hiftory. For
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Chap. I.] Mim dependant en oihers for his Facu/tUs. 227
no one of us became man of himfclf : the whole ftru6bure of his humanity is
ccnncded by a fpiritual birth, education, with his parents, teachers, friends; with
all the circumflanccs of his life, and confcquentiy with his countrymen and
their forefathers ; and ladly with the whole chain of the human fpecies, fome
link or other of which is continually adling on his mental faculties. Thus na,-
tions may be traced up to families ; families to their founders : the ftream of
liiftory contrafts itfelf as we approach it*s fource, and all our habitable Earth
is ultimately converted into the fchool of our family, containing indeed many
divifions, clafles, and chambers, but ftill with one plan of inftruftion, which has
been tranfmitted from our anceftors, with various alterations and additions, to
all their race. Now if we give the limited underftanding of a teacher credit for
not having made a feparate divifion of his fcholai's without fome grounds j and
perceive, that the human fpecies every where finds a kind of artificial edu-
cation, adapted to the wants of the time and place : what jnan of underftand-
ing, who contemplates the ftrudure of our Earth, and the relation man bears to
it, would not incline to think, that the father of our race, who has determined
how far and how wide nations (hould fpread, has alfo determined this, as the ge-
neral teacher of us all ? Will he who views a ftiip deny the purpofe of it's buildef ?
and who, that compares the artificial frame of our nature with every climate of
the habitable Earth, will rejeft the notion, that the climatic diverfity of various
man was an end of the creation for the purpofe of educating his mind } But
as th€ place of abode alone does not effeft every thing, fmce living beings like
ourfelvcs contribute to inftrudl us, faftiion us, and form our habits ; there ap-
pears to me an education of the fpecies, and a philofophy of the hiftory of man,
as certainly, and as truly, as there is a human nature, that is, a cooperation of
individuals, which alone makes us men.
Hence the principles of this philofophy become as evident, fimple, and in-
dubitable, as the natural hiftory of man itfelf is : they arc called tradition and
organic powers. All education muft fpring from imitation and exercife, by
means of which the model paffes into the copy j and how can this be more
aptly expreffed than by the term tradition ? But the iinitator muft have powers
to receive what is communicated or communicable, and convert it into his own
nature, as the food by means of which he lives. Accordingly, what and how
much he receives, whence he derives it, and how he ufes, applies it, and makes
it his own, muft depend on his own, the receptive po»Jvers. So that the edu-
cation of our fpecies is in a double fenfe genetic and organic : genetic, inaf-
much as it is communicated ; organic, as what is communicated is received and
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2i8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
applied. Whether wo name this fecond gencfis of man cultivation from the
culture of the ground, or enlightening from the adion of light, is of little im-
port ; the chain of light and cultivation reaches to the end of the Earth. Even
the inhabitant of California or Tiecra del Fuego learns to make and ufe the
bow and arrow: he has language and ideas, praftices and arts, which he
learned, as we learn them : fo far, therefore, he is actually cultivated and en-
lightened, though ia t!he loweft order. Thus the difference between enlight-
ened and unenlightened, cultivated and uncultivated nations, is not (pecific^
it is only in degn». This part of the pifture of nations has infinite (hades,
changing with place and time : and, like other piAures, much depends on the
point of view« from whicfa we examme it. If we take the idea of european
cultivation for our ftandard, this is to be found only in Europet and if we efta-
blifli arbitrary diftinßions between cultivation and the enlightening of the
mind, neither of whicfa, if it be genuine, can exift independently of the other, we
are lofing ourfeLves ftill more in the clouds. JBut if we keep clofe to the Earth,
and take a general view of what Nature, to whom the end and charaAerof her
creatures muil be bed known, herfelf exhibits to out eyes as forming man, this
is no other than the tradition 'ofan educatipH to //me farm or other of human happinefs
and the economy of life. This is general as the human fpecies; and often the
moil aäive among favages, though in a narrower circle. If a man remain
among men, he cannot avoid this impi»ving or vitiating cultivation ; tradition
lays hold of him, forms his head» and fiUhions his limbs. As that is, and as
thefe are &(hioned« fb is the man, fo is he fbnned. Even children, whom
chance has thrown among beafts, hate acquired (bme human cxUtivation, when
they have lived for a time among men, as moft known inftances (how; while a
child, brought up from the moment of his birth by a brute» would be the
only uncultivated man upon Earth.
What follows from this fixed point of view, confirmed as it is by the whole
hiftory of our fpecies ? Firft a principle, coniblatory and aninmting both to
our lives, and to this reflexion; namely, that, as the human fpecies has not
arifen of itfelf, and as there are difpofitions in it*s nature, for which no admi-
ration can be too high, the creator muil have appointed means, conceived by
his paternal goodneis, for the developement of tbefe difpofitions. Is the cor-
poral eye fo beautifully formed in vain ? Does it not find before it the golden
beams of the Sun, which were created for it, as the eye for them, and fulfil
the wifdom of it's defign? It is the fame witjli all the fenfes, with all the or-
gans : they find the means of their developement^ the medium for which they
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Chap. I.] Man dependant on others for his Faculties. 229
were created. And can it be othenvifc with the fpiritual fenfes and organs,
on the ufe of which the charadter of man, and the kind and meafure of his
happinefs, depend ? Shall the creator have failed here of attaining his pur-
pofe ; the purpofe too of all nature, as far as it depends on the ufe of human
powers ? Impoffible ! Every fuch conjefture muft arife from ourfelves ; either
attributing erroneous ends to the creator, or endeavouring as much as in us
lies to fruftrate his purpofes. But as this endeavour muft have it's limits,
and no defign of the AUwife can be thwarted by a creature of his thoughts ;
let us reft fccure in the certainty, that, whatever is God*s purpofe with regard
to the human fpecies upon Earth remains evident even in the moft perplex-
ing parts of it's hiftory. All the works of God have this property, that, al-
though they belong to a wliole, which no eye can fcan, each is in itfelf a whole,
and bears the divine charadters of it's deftination. It is fo with the brute,
and with the plant : can it be otherwife with man ? Can it be, that thoufands
are made for one ? all the generations that have paffcd away, merely for the
laft ? every individual, only for the fpecies, that is for the image 01' an abftraft
name ? The AUwife fports not in this manner : he invents no finefpun fliadowy
dreams : he lives and feels in each of his children with paternal afTeftion, as
though it were the only creature in the world. All his means are ends : all
his ends are means to higher ends, in which the Infinite, filling all, reveals him-
felf. What every man, therefore, attains, or can attain, muft be the end of the
fpecies : and what is this ? Humanity and happinefs, on this fpot, in this de-
gree, as this link, and no other, of the chain of improvement, that- extends
through the whole kind. What and wherever thou waft born, O man, there
tlwu art, and there thou (houldft be: quit not the chain, fet not thy felf above it,
but adhere to it firmly. Life and happinefs exift for thee only in it's integrity,
in what thou roceiveft or imparteft, in thy aftivity in each.
Secondly. Much as it may flatter man, that the deity has admitted him as
an affiftant, and left the forming him here below to himfelf and his fellow-
creatures, the very choice of thefe means ftiows the imperfeftion of our earthly
exiftence, inafmuch as we are not yet men, but are daily becotning fo. How
poor iftuft the creature be, who has nothing of himfelf, but receives ever^^ thing
from imitation, inftrudtion, and pradtice, by which he is moulded like wax !
Let the man, who is proud of his reafon, contemplate the theatre of his fellow-
beings throughout the wide world, or liften to their many- toned diflbnant hif-
tory 1 Is there any fpecies of barbarity, to which fome man, fome nation, nay
frequently a number of nations, have not accuftomed thcmfelves; fo that many,
perhaps moft, have even fed on the flcfli of their fellow-creatures ? Is there a
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ajo PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
wild conception the mind can frame, which has not been aflually rendered
facred by hereditary tradition, in one place or another ? No creature, therefore,
can {land lower than man : for, throughout his whole life, he is not only a
child in reafon, but a pupil of the reafon of others. Into whatever hands he
falls, by them he is formed; and I am perfuaded, no form of humaa manners
is poi&ble, which fome nation, or fome individual, has not adopted. In biftory
every mode of vice and cruelty is exhaufted, while here and there only a nobler
train of human fentiments and virtues appears. From the means cholen by
the creator, that our- fpecies fliould be formed only by our fpecies, it could
not poffibly be otherwife ; follies muft be inherited, as well as the raw troa-
fures of wifdom : the way of man refembles a labyrinth, aboundmg on all fides
with divergent paffages, while but few footfkeps lead to the innermoft chamber.
Happy the mortal, who reaches it himfelf, or leads others to it ; whofe thoughts,
inclinations, and wilhes, or even the beams of whofe filent example, have pro-
moted the humanity of his brethren 1 God aäs upon Earth only by means of
fuperiour, chofen men : religion and language, art and fcience, nay govern-
ments themselves, cannot be adorned with a nobler crown, than the laurels
gathered from the moral improvement of human minds. Our body moulders io
the grave, and our name foon becomes a fliadow upon the Earth : but incor-
porated in the voice of God, in plaftic tradition, we fliall live a&ively in the
minds of our pofterity, even though our name be no more.
Thirdly. The philofophy of hiftory, therefore, which follows the chain of
tradition, is, to fpeak properly, the true hiftory of mankind, without which all
the outward occurrences of this World are but clouds, or revolting deformi-
ties. It is a melancholy proipedb, to behold nothing in th& revolutions of our
Earth but wreck upon wreck, eternal beginnings without end, changes of cir-
cumftance without any fixed purpofe. The chain of improvement alone forms a
whole of thefii rums, in which human figures indeed vaniih, but the fpirit of
mankind lives and aßts immortally. Glorious names, that fhine in the hiftory
of cultivation as genii of the human (pecies, as brilliant ftars in the niglit of
time ! Be it that with the lapfe of ages many of your edifices decay, and much
<^ your gold is fiank in the dough of forgetfldnefss the labours of your lives
were not in vain, for fiich of your works, as Providence thought fit to iave,
have been fiived in other forms. In any other way no human monument can
endure wholly and eternally upon Earth -, being formed in the fucceffion of ge-
nerations by the hand of time for temporal ule, and evidently prejudicial to
pofterity, as foon as it renders unneceflary or retards their farther exertion.
Thus the mutable form smd imper£bftioa of all human operations entered into
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Chap. I.J Mein dependant on others for his Faculties, 231
the plan of the creator. Folly muft appear, that wifdom might furmount it :
decaying fragility even of the nobleft works was an effential property of their
materials, that men might have an opportunity of exerting frefli labours in im-
proving or building upon their ruins : for we are all here in a ftate of exercife.
Every individual muft depart, and as it will then be indifferent to him what
pofterity may do with his works, it would be repugnant to a good mind, to
condemn fucceeding generations to venerate them with inaftive ftupidity, and
undertake nothing of their own. This new labour he wifhes them 5 for what
he carries with him out of the World is his ftrengthcned power, the internal
ripe fruit of his human aftivity.
Golden chain of improvement, that furroundeft the Earth, and extendeft
through all individuals to the throne of Providence, fince I perceived thee,
and traced tliee in thy fineft links, the feelings of the parent, the friend, and
the preceptor, hiftory no longer appears to me, what it once did, an abominable
feries of defolations on a facred Earth. A thoufand deeds of (hame ftand there
veiled with deteftable praife, and thoufands in their native uglinefs, to fet off
the rare true merit of aftive humanity ; which has ever proceeded on it's way
quietly and obfcurely, feldom aware of the confequences, that Providence would
educe from it's life, as the leaven from the dough. Only amid ftorms can the
noble plant flourifh : only by oppoiing ftruggles againft falfe pretenfions can
the fweet labours of man be viAorious. Nay men frequently appear to fink
under their boneft purposes; but it is only in appearance: the feed germi«
nates more beautifully in a fubfequent period from the afties of the good, and
when irrigated with blood ieldom fails, to (hoot up to an unfading flower. I am
DO longer milled, therefoce, by the mechanifm of revolutions : it is as neceffary
to our fpecies, as the waves to the ftream, that it become not a ftagnant pool.
The genius of humanity blooms in continually renovated youth, and is rege-
nerated as it proceeds, in nations, generations, and ^milies.
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232 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book DT.
CHAPTER II.
Language is the fpecial Mean of improving Man.
In man, nay even in the ape, there is a peculiar difpofition to imitation» which
appears to be by no means the confequence of rational conviftion, but the im-
mediate offspring of organic fympathy. As one firing refounds to another, and
the vibrating capacity of all bodies increafes with their more equable denfity aad
homogeneity ; the human organization, being the moft exquifite of all, is of
jjeceffity more peculiarly formed, to repeat the tones of tdl other beings, aad
fympathife with them. The hiftory of difeafes (hows, that not only hurts and
affedtions of the body, but even mental derangement, may be propagated by
lympathy.
We perceive the operation of this confent of beings in unifon in the higheft
degree in children. For this purpofe their bodies remain, durmg many years,
eafily refounding ftringed inftruments. Anions and geftures, nay even paffions
and thoughts, take place in them unnoticed, £0 that they are at lead tuned to
what they cannot yet pradtice, and unconfcioufly obey a propeniity, which is a
kind of fpiritual aflimilation. It is fo with all fav^e nations, the children of
nature* Born pantomimes, they imitate in a lively manner whatever is related
to them, or what they wifli to exprefs j anddifplay their peculiar ways of think-
ing b dances, games, jefts> and maxims. Their fancy acquired thefe figures by
imitation : the treafure of their memories and language confifls in fuch types;
and hence their thoughts fo readily pafs into adtion, and living tradition.
But man did not attain the artificial charadleriftic of his fpccics, rcafon, by
all this mimicry : he arrived at it by fpeech alone. Let us defcant on this
miracle of divine inflitution j the greateft perhaps of our terrefbial creation,
except the generation of living beings.
Should any one afk, how images depifted on the eye, and all the perceptions
of our mofl oppofite fenfes, are not only capable of being reprefented by founds,
but thefe founds are endued with fuch inherent power, that they can exprefs
thoughts and excite them; no doubt the problem would be deemed the fally of
a madman, who, fubflituting the mofl: difTimilar things for each other, thought
of making colour found, found thought, and thought a depifting voice. This
problem the deity has efTeftively folved. The breath of our mouths is the pifture
of the world, the type that exhibits our thoughts and feelings to the mind of
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Chap. Tl.] Language the Special Mean of improving Man. ±%%
another. All that man has ever thought, willed, done, or will do, of human, upon
Earth, has depended on the movement of a breath of air : for if this divine breath
had not infpired us, and floated like a charm on our lips, we fliould all have ftiU
been wanderers m the woods. The whole hiftory of man, therrfore, with all the
treafures of tradition and cultivation, is nothii^ but a confequence of the folu-
tion of this divine problem. What renders it the more wonderful to us is, that
wc ourfelves, notwithftandmg it's folution by the daily ufe of fpcech, do not in
the leaft comprehend the connexion of the inflruments, by which it is efTeäed«
Hearing and fpeech are conneäed with each other ; for as creatures degenerate,
a mutual change of their auditory and vocal organs evidently takes place. We
fee, too, that the whole body is framed, to be in uniCon with them $ but we
comprehend not the internal mode of their cooperation. That all the paflions»
particularly grief and joy, become founds ; that what is heard by the ear moves
the tongue ^ that images and fenfations may become mental charafters, and
thefe characters fignificant, nay impreffive, founds ; artfes from a concent of (b
many difpofitions, like a voluntary league, which the creator has thought proper
to eftabli(h between the moft oj^fite fenfes and inftinds, powers and mem-
bers, of his creature, in a manner not lefs wonderful, than that in which the
cnind and body are conjoined.
How Angular, that a moveable breath of air fhould be the fole, ex at lead
the bcft medium of our thoughts and perceptions ! Without it's incompre-
henfible connexion with all the operations of our mind, which are fo diiSmilar
to it, thefe operations would never have taken place, the elaborate ftrufture of
our brain would have remained idle, the whole purpofe of our Being unaccom-
plilhed, as the inftances of men who have fallen among beafts fufficiently prove.
They who are born deaf and dumb, though they may live long in a world of
gcftures and other charadtcrs of ideas, ftill carry themfclves Hke children, or hu-
man animak. They aft analogoufly to what they fee, and do not undcrftand ;
for all the ftores of viiion do not render them capable of a proper employment of
reafon. A nation has no idea, for which it's language has no word : the livelieft
imagination remains an obfcure feeling, till the mind finds a charadiTer for it, and
by means of a word incorporates it with the memory, the recoilidion, the un-
derdanding, and laftly the underflanding of mankind, tradition : a pure under-
ftanding, without language, upon Earth, is an Utopian land. It is the fame
with the paflions of the heart, with all the focial propcnfities. Speech alone has
rendered man human, by fetting bounds to the vaft flood of his paflions, and
giving them rational memorials by means of words. No cities have been creftcd
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234 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Bdok IX
by the lyre of Amphion, no magic wand has converted deferts Into gardens : but
language, the grand aiCflant of nun, has done thefe. By it men welcomed one
another into fociety, and knit the bonds of love. It framed laws, and united
fiimilies : it alone renders a hiftory of mankind* in tranfmitted modifications of
the heart and mind, poffible. Even now I behold the heroes of HoOTer,.and feel
the complaints of Offian, though the (hades both of the poets and their heroes
tave fo long departed from the Earth. A moveable breath of air has rendered
them immortaJ, and brings their forms before nie : the voice of the dead is in
my ear : I hear their long fiJcnt thoughts. Whatever the mind of man has
conceived, what the fages of old haVe thought, comes to me, if Providence
think good, by the means of language alone. By it my thinking mind is con-
oefted with the mind of the firft man that thought, and probably of the lad.
In (hort, language is the mark of our reafon, by which alone it acquires and
propagates forms.
A little cloler infpedlion, however, fliows how imperfedt this mean of our im-
provement is, not only confidered as the inflrument of reafon, but as the bond
between man and man ; fo that a more light, infubftantial, fugitive web can
fcarcely be conceived, thaa that wixh which the creator thought proper to con-
tttßt the human fpecies. Kind father ! was no other lefs fallible moMsfatioa
of our thoughts,, was no more inumate comiexbn of men's hearts and minds,
poffible ?
I. No language- exprefes things , butfjan:ei : according^ no Suman reafon perceives
tiingSj but only marks of themy which it depißs by words. This is an humiliiCting
obfervation, which gives the whole hiftory of our intelleA narrow limits, and a
very infubilantial form. AIL our fcience of metaphyfics is properly metaphy(ics,
that is an abflrafted fyftematic index of names following obfervations of expe-
rience. As a method, and an index, it may t>e Very ufeful, and muft guide our
artificial underßaoding to a certain degree in all other fciences : but confidered
in itfelf, and according to the nature of things, it affords not a fingle perfed and
eflential idea, not a fingle intrinfic truth. All our fcience reckons with abflradt,
individual, extxinfic charafters,. which reach not the interiour of the exiflence of
any one thing, as we have no organ to perceive or exprcfs it. We know not,
and can never learn to know, any power in it's eflence : for even that, which
animates us, and thinks in us,, we feel and enjoy it is true, but we do not know.
Thus we undeiiland no connexion between caufe and efTeä, becaufe we caafee
into the interiour neither of what aüfls, nor of what b produced, and have ab-
iblutely no idea of the entity of a thing. Thus our poor reafon is nothing
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Cii A p . n.] Language thefpecial Mean af hnprovtng Man, 135
more than a figuring arithmetician, as it's name in many languages im*
plies.
2. And with what do^s it reckon ? with the charafters themfelves it has
abftiafted, however imperfeft and uneffential they may be? By no means.
7hefe charaSers are afienvards changed into arbitrary founds^ altogether unejfefitiai
to thern^ with which the mind thinks. It reckons, therefore, witli counters, fouhds,
and ciphers ; for no one, who is acquainted with two languages, will believe,
that there is an efiential connexion between founds and thoughts, not to fay
between founds and things. Yet how many more languages than two are
there upon Earth 1 and in all of them reafon calculates, and fatisfies itfelf with
the magic lantern of an arbitrary connedion. And why does it fo ? bccaufc
Itfelf poflefles nothing but uneflential charad^ers, and it is a matter of indtflbr«
ence to it at bottom, whether it reckon with thefe figures, or with thofe. Me-
lancholy profpcft for the hiftory of humankind ! Opinions and errours, there-
fore, are inevitable from our nature ; not from any fault of the obferver, but
fixTm the very mode in which our ideas are generated, and in which they are
propagated by reafon and language. If we thought in things inftead of ab-
ftrad charaften, and expreffed the rtature of things inftead of arbitrary figns;
farewel errour and opinion, we fliould live in the land of truth. But now 1k>w
fer are we from it, even when we fancy ourfelves (landing on itS confines ! fince
what I know of ^ thing is only an external detached fymbol of it, clothed in
another arbitrary fymbol. If another man underftand me, if he affix to the
word I employ the fame idea as I afExed to it, or indeed no idea, dill he reckons
on with the word, and gives it to others perhaps as an enipty nutfliell. This
IS the way of all fefts of philofophy and religion. The founder had at leaft
clear ideas of what he faid, though probably erroneous ones : his Icholars and
followers underftood him after their own manner; that is, they affixed their
own ideas to his words, and at length reechoed nothing but empty (bundji
into men's ears. Manifeft are the imperfe(äions in the fole means of propa-
gating human thoughts : yet to this our improvement is enchained» and we
cannot emancipate ourfelves from it.
From this important confequences for the hiftory of man may be deduced.
Firßj fince God has chofen this mean for our improvement, we could fcarccly
have been formed for mere (peculation, or for purely contemplative lives j fince
either of thefe can be purfued but very imperfeftly in our fphere. Not for
pure contemplation j which is either a deception, fince no man fees the inte-
riour of things, or at leaft remains wholly incommunicable, as it admits not of
charafiers and words. Scarcely is the contemplatift able to point out to an-
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236 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
other the way, in which he attained his nanielefs treafures ; and then it depends
altogetlier on that other, and on his genius, how far he can participate in his
contemplations. This neceflarily opens the door to a thoufand vain perplexi-
ties of the mind, and innumerable kinds of artful deceptions, as the hiftory of
all nations (hows. As little can man have been created for fpeculation i fince,
from the way in which it is engendered and communicated, it is not a whir
more perfeft, and too frequently fills the heads of thofe, who repeat the fpecu-
lations of others, with empty words. And when thefe two extremes, fpeculation
and contemplation, attempt to unite, and the metaphyfical enthufiafl: points
to a fpeechlefs rcafon filled with contemplations; alas, poor human nature,
thou floated in a fpace of non-entity> between freezing heat and burning cold.
By language the deity has led us a fafer middle way. By it we acquire only
ideas of the imderftanding ; and they are fufficient to us for the enjoyment of
nature, the application of our powers, the found employment of life, the im-
provement of our humanity. We were not intended to refpire ether, for
which our machine is not adapted, but the wholefome air of our own Elarth.
And can men be as diftant from one another in the fphere of true and ufefiil
ideas, as proud fpeculation fuppofes ? Both the hiftory of nations, and the na-
ture of reafonand language, forbid me to think fo. The poor favage, who has
fecn but few things, and combined very few ideas, proceeds in combining them
arfter the fame manner as the firft of philofophers. He has language like them ;
and by means of it exercifes his underftanding and memory, his ims^nation
and recoUeäion, a thoufand ways. Whether this be in a wider or narrower
circle, is little to the purpofe ; he ftill exercifes them after the manner of hu-
mankind. The philofopher of Europe cannot name a finglc faculty of the
mind, that is peculiar tohimfelf: nay Nature affords abundant compenfation
in the proportion of the faculties and their exercife. In many favages, for in-
ftance, the memory, the imagination, pradlical wifdom, promptitude of deci-
jGon, accuracy of judgment, and livclinefs of exprcflion, flourifh in a degree
feldom attained by the artificial reafon of european philofophers. It is true,
the man of learning calculates, with his verbal ideas and ciphers, infinitdy nice
and artificial combinations, which never enter into the thoughts of the man of
nature : but is a clofeted multiplication-table the model of all human perfec-
tion, ftrength, and happlnefs ? Be it, that the favage thinks in images, what he
is incapable of conceiving abftraftedly j eveh if he have no definite thought^
that is no word, for God, and enjoys him as the great fpirit of the creation ac-
tive in his life ; yet fo he lives grateful, as he lives contentedly : and if he be-
lieve in the immortality of the foul> though he cannot demonftrate it in verbal
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aiphers, he goes to the land of his Withers with more tranquillity than many a
word-learned fccptic.
Let us then adore kind Providence, for having rendered men intrinfically
more fimilar to each other, by the imperfeft but general mean of language,
than their cxteriour indicates» By fpeech alone we all attain to reafon j and
by tradition, by belief in the words of our fathers, to fpeech. As he would be
the moft unteachablc learner of language, who fhould require a caufe and rea-
fon for the firft ufe of words ; a fimilar belief in thijigs fo difficult as experience
and the obfervation of nature mull lead us, with due precaution, through our
whole lives. He who trufts not hb fenfes is a fool, and mud remain an idle fpe«
culatift ; while he who trufting cxercifes them, and thereby inquires and correfts
himfelf, alone obtains a treafure of experience for his fublunary life. To him
language with all it's limitations is fufficient « for it is defigned only, to make
the obferver attentive, and lead him to an aftive ufe of his own mental powers.
A nicer idiom, penetrating like the funbeam, on one hand could not be uni*
verfal, and on the other would be a real inconvenience in the prefent fphere of
our grofs adtivity« It is the fame with the language of the heart ; which can
fay but little, and yet fays enough : nay, in a certain degree our human language
is formed more fox the heart than for the head. Gefture, motion, the thing it«
ielf, may come in to aid the underftanding : but the feelings of our heart muft
lie hidden in our bread, if the melodious dream convey them not in gentle
waves to the heart of another. For this reafon the creator chofe the mufic of
founds as the organ of our improvement ; a language of feeling, a language of
parent, child, and friend. Creatures^ that cannot yet touch each other ioti«
mately, dand as behind lattices, and coo forth to each other the words of love :
in beings, that fpeak the langu^e of light or fome other organ, the whole form
and chain of their improvement neceflkrily differs.
Secondly. A philofophical comparifon of languages would form the bed cflay
on the hidory and diverfified charader of the human heart and underdanding :
for every language bears the damp of the mind and charafter of a people. Not
only do the organs of fpeech vary with climates, not only are there certain
founds and letters peculiar to almod every nation, but the giving of names»
even in denoting audible things, nay in the immediate expreffions of the paf-
fions, in inteijeftions, varies over all the Earth. With refpeft to vifible things,
and (ubjedbs of cool refleAion, this variation is dill greater : and in allegorical
cxpreffions, in figures of fpeech, in the druAure of a language ladly, . in the
relation, arrangement, and connexion of it's parts, it is almod infinite : though
ilill the genius of a people is no where more difplayed than in the phyfiognomy
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«j8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [BookIX-
of their langu^e. For inflance, whether a nation have many names, or much
a<äion i how it exprefles time and perfon ; to what order of ideas it is attached ;
is often extremely charaftcriflic in nice features. Many nations have a particu-
lar language for either fex : in others even condition is difcriminated in the fim-
ple word /. The verbs of adive nations have an abundance of moods: refined
nations have a number of modifications of things, which they have exalted to
abftradfc notions. Finally, the moft fingular part of human languages is the
delineation of men's feelings, the expreffions of love and efteem, of reproof
and adulation, in which the weakneffes of a people are often laughably difplay-
ed *. Why can I yet quote no work, that has even in a flight degree fulfilled
the wifli of Bacon, Leibnitz, Sulzer, and others, for 2igefierai phyfiognomy of na-
tions from their languages f Numerous materials for fuch a work are extant in the
grammars and books of travels of particular nations ; and it would be neither
extremely difiicult nor prolix, were every thing fuperfluous rcjefted, and good
ufe made of what might be placed in a ftriking light. It would be as far from
wanting inftruftive charms, which mufl: occur at every ftep ; fince all the qua-
lities of a people oflfcr themfelves to the various purpofes of the obfcrver in their
praftical underftanding, imaginations, manners, and way of life, as a garden of
the human fpecies: and finally the richeft architeäure of human ideas^ the bed
iogic and metaphyfics of a found underßandtng^ would arife from it. The laurel
is not yet gathered ; it waits for the appearance in due time of another Leib«
nitz.
The hiftory of the revolutions of any particular language would be a fimilar
talk. As an example to us germans, I would take the language of our country
in particular : for though it has not been intermixed like others with foreign
languages, yet it has effentially altered, and that even with refpeft to it's gram-
mar, fince the time of Ottfried. The comparifon of different cultivated lan-
guages with the various revolutions of the people that fpeak them would give,
with every ftroke of light and (hade, a kind of changeable pi&ure of the varied
progreffive improvement of the human mind, which, I am perfuaded, has flou-
riQied in every dialeA throughout all ages. Nations exift In the infancy, youth,
manhood, and old age of the human fpecies : and how many have been en-r
grafted upon others, or arifen from their alhes !
LafUy the tradition of traditions, writings is to be confidered. If langui^
be the mean of improving men as w?«, writing is the mean of improving them
* To give indanGci woold lead me t09 hx : they belong not to thii book, bat will appear in a
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Cha?. IL] Language the Jpecial Mean of Improving Marl. 1.39
in erudition. All nations» who have been deftitute of this artificial tradition,
have remained, according to our ideas, uncultivated ; while they, who have
enjoyed it but impcrfeöly, have immojrtalizcd their underftanding and laws by
embalming them in letters. The mortal who invented the art of enchaining
the fugitive mind, not by words merely, but by letters, afted as a deity among
mankind *.
But what was obvious with refpeft to language is ftill more evident here,
namely, that though this mean of perpetuating our thoughts fixes both the fpirit
and the letter, it in various ways fetters and reftrains them. Not only arc the
living accents and geftures, which formerly gave language fuch power to pene-
trate the heart, gradually extinguifhed by writing; not only are diale&s, and
confequently the charafteriftic idioms of particular tribes and nations, rendered
kfs numerous ; but the memories of men, and the fpirit of their mental powers,
are enfeebled by this artificial afiiftance of prefcribed forms of thought. The
human mind would long ago have been flifled beneath books and learning,
had not Providence given it breath by many deftrudtive revolutions. The un-
derftanding, (hackled with letters, creeps on laborioully : our beft thoughts are
crippled by dead written characters. AU this, however, prevents not the tra-
dition of writing from being the moft durable, quiet, efficacious inftitution of
God, by means of which nation adts upon nation, age upon age, and through
which probably the whole 'human fpecies will in time find itfelf encircled ia
one chain of firaternal tradition«
CHAPTER IIU
Ail the Arts and Seiendes of Mankind have been invented through Imitat ion^ Reafon,
and Language,
A s foon as man, by whatever god or genius led, was brought to appropriate
to himfelf a thing as a fign, and to fubftitute an arbitrary charaöer for the fign
he had found, in other words, as foon as the language of reafon commenced
with the flighteft beginnings, he was in the road to every art and fcience. For
what does human reafon more, in the invention of all thefe, than remark and
defignate ? Thus with language, the moft difficult of arts, a prototype of all the
reft was in a certain degree given,
• TheUibryof thuiflventionaiidotlienruiar ftfthcjbeloHgto die piaorc of man, will
ibOow bcfcafur.
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£4o J^HILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIX.
The man, for example, who conceived a nurk of defignation from an animal,
in fo doing laid the foundations of domefticating tameable animals» benefitting
himfelf by fuch as were ufeflil, and rendering himfelf the general lord of every
thing in nature : for in every one of his appropriations he docs nothing in rea-
lity but mark the charafters of a tameable, ufeful being, to be employed for
his own convenience, and defignate it by language or pattern. In the gentle
fliccp, for inftancc, he remarked the milk fucked by the lamb, and the wod
that warmed his hand, and endeavoured to appropriate each to his own ufe.
In the tree, to the fruit of which he was guided by hunger, he remarked leaves,
with which he might gird himfelf, wood, that would afford him heat. Thus
he leaped on the back of the fteed, that he might cany him; and kept him,
that he might carry him again. He obferved Nature, how (he brought up
her children, and protcfted them from danger : he obferved the beafts, how
they nourifhed and defended themfelves. Thus he got into the road to every
art, through nothing but the internal generation of a diftinft mark, and the
retention of it in a fedt, or fome other note j in fliort through langu^e.
Through it, and it alone, were obfervation, recognition, remembrance, poffef-
fion, and a cham of thought, pofTible; and thus in time were born the arts
and fciences, daughters of defignating Reafon, and Imitation for fome pur-
pofe.
Bacon has already wifhed for an art of invention : but as it's theory would be
difficult, and perhaps ufelefs, a hifiory of ittventions would probably be the moft
inftrudlivc work, that the divinities and geniufes of the human fpccies could
frame for an everlafting model to their (uccefTors. In this it would every where
appear, how accident and fcite had prefented a new mark to the eye of one in-
ventor, introduced a new charafter as an inftrument into the mind of another^
and for the rnofb part by a flight approximation of two long known thoughts
given birth to an art, that operated on future ages. Such have often been in-
vented and again forgotten ; their theory exifted, but they were not yet carried
into praftice, till fome one more fortunate brought the hidden gold into circu-
lation, or from a new ftation moved worlds with a trifling lever. Perhaps there
is no fpecies of hiftory, that fo evidently fliows a fuperiour deftiny rulmg over
human affairs, as that of the invention and improvement of arts, of which we
are:apt to be mofl vain. The charafter, and the material of it's defignation,
had long exifted : but it was now for the firft time remarked, now firft de-
fignated. The produftion of an art, as of a human being, was an inftant of
pleafurc, an union between idea and charafter, between body and fpirit.
It is with reverence 1 trace the inventions of the human mind to this fimplc
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Chap. HL] Inventm of Arts and Sciences. 241
principle of it's obferving and defcribing underftanding : for this is what is truly
divine in man^ this is his charaöleriftic excellence. All, who ufe a learned lan-
guage, wander» as if their reafon were in a dream; ^hey think with the reafon of
others, and are but imitatively wife: for is he, who employs the art of another,
himfelf an artift ? But he, in whofe mind native thoughts arife, and form a
body for themfelves ; he, who fees not with the eye alone, but with the under*
(landing, and defcribes not with the tongue, but with the mind ; be, who is fo
happy as to obferve Nature in her creative laboratory, efpy new maiics of her
opemtions, and turn them to (bme human purpofe by implements of art ; he is
properly a man, and as fuch feldom appear, he is a god among men. He (peaks,
and thoufands lifp his words : he creates, and others play with what he has pro-
duced : he was a man, and children perhaps come after him again for centuries,
A view of the World, and the hiftory of nations, give us numerous proofs, how
rarely inventors appear among mankind, and how indolently men adiiere to what
they poflefs, without troubling themfelves for what is (till wanting: nay the
hiftory of civilization fufficiently demonftrates the fame.
Thus with the arts and fciences a new tradition pervades the human fpecies ;
and while it is given but to a happy few, to add new links to the chain, the reft
cling to it like induftrious ilaves, and mechanically drag it along. As this fu^
gared water paffed through many hands eie it came to me, and I have no other
merit than that of fwallowing it ; fo are our reafon and way of life, our learning
and acquired arts, our military and political fcience, a combination of the
thoughts and inventions of others, which have been derived to us from all parts
of the World without any merit of our own, and in which we have funk or fwum
from our earlieft youth.
Vain therefore is the boaft of fo many europeans, when they fet themfelves
Above the people of all the other quarters of the Globe, in what they call arts,
fciences, and cultivation, and, as the madman by the (hips in the port of Piraeus,
deem all the inventions of Europe their own, for no other reafon, but becaufe
they were born amid the confluence of thefe inventions and traditions. Poor
creature ! haft thou invented any of thefe arts ? have thy own thoughts any
thing to do in all the traditions thou haft fucked in ? thy having learned to ufe
them is the work of a machine : thy having imbibed the waters of fcience is
the merit of a fponge, that has grown on the humid foil. Steer thy friste to
Otaheite, bid thy cannon roar along the (hores of the New Hebrides, ftiU
thou art not fuperiour in (kill or ability to the inhabitant of the South-Sea
iflands, who guides with aft the boat, which he has conftru^ed with his own
hand. Even the favages themfelves have had an obfcure perception of thb, as
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M2 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIX.
foon as they became more intimately acquainted with europeans. In the pre-
paration of their implements they appeared to them unknown fupcriour beings,
before whom they bowed themfelves, and whom they faluted witli reverence :
but when the favage perceived, that they were vulnerable, mortal, liable to dif-
cafe, and more feeble in bodily exercifes than himfelf, he dreaded the art, but
flevV the ma"h, whofe art was no part of himfelf. This is applicable to ail euro-
pean cultivation. If the language of a people, even in books, be delicate and
modeft, every one who reads thefe books, and fpeaks this language, is not there-
fore to be concluded modeft and delicate. How he reads, and how he {peaks,
are the queftion : and even then he thinks and fpeaks only after others, whofe
thoughts and cxpreffions he follows. The favage, who in his narrower circle
thinks for himfelf, and expreffes himfelf in it with more truth, precifion, and
force i he, who in the fphere of his aftivity knows how to employ his mental
and corporal faculties, his pradtical underftanding, and few implements, with
art, and with prefence of mind ; is palpably, man for man, more cultivated than
the politic or learned machine, that fits like a child on a lofty ftage, erefted,
alas ! by the liands of others, nay perhaps by the labour of all preceding ages.
The man of nature, on the contrary, more limited indeed, but a founder, abler
man, ftands firmly on the ground. No one will deny Europe to be the repo-
fitory of art, and of the inventive underftanding of man : the deftiny of ages has
dcpofited it's treafures there : they are augmented and employed in it. But every
one, who makes ufe of them has not therefore the underftanding of the in-
ventors : nay, this very ufc tends to render the underftanding inaAivcj for
while 1 have the inftrument of another for my purpofe, 1 (hall fcarcely take the
trouble,, to invent one for niyfelf.
It is a far more difficult point to determine, what the arts and fciences have
contributed to the happinefs of mankind, or how far they have increafcd it :
and I do not think the queftion is to be anfwered with a fimple affirmative or
negative, fince here, as in every thing elfe, all depends on the ufe made of what
has been invented. That there are finer and more artificial implements in
the World, fo that more is done with lefs exertion, and confequently much
human labour is fpared where it can be difpenfed with, admits not of queftion.
It is equally inconteftible, that every art and fcience knits a new bond of fo-
ciety, of that mutual want, without which men of art cannot live. But, on the
other hand, whether this increafe of wants extend the narrow circle of human
happinefs; whether art be capable of actually adding any thing to nature, or
whether nature be not rather debilitated and difpenfed with in many by means
of art i whether all talents of art or fcience have not excited propcnfities in the
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Chap. III.] Iftvemion of Arts and Sciences, 243
human bread, which render the attainment of man's higheft bleffing, content,
much more rare and difficult, as the internal reftleflhefs occafioned by thefe
propcnfitics muft be inceflantly at war with contentment ; nay, finally, whether
the concourfe of men, and the augmentation of their fociability, have not con-
verted many towns and countries into ix>or-lioufes and artificial hofpitals, in
the clofe atmofphcre of which pallid human nature withers ; and whether, while
men are fupported by fo many unearned alms of fcience, art, and policy, they
have not for the mod part aflumed the nature of be^ars, applying themfelves
to all the arts of begging, and confcquently incurring the effefts of beggary :
thefe, and many others, are queftions, that luminous Hiftory, the daugater of
Time, alone can folve.
Meffengers of Fate, men of genius and invention, on what beneficial yet dan-
gerous heights have you exercifed your divine calling. You invented, but not
for yourfelves : it was not in your power to determine how the world, how
pofterity, (hould employ your inventions, what they (hould annex to them,
what of new or oppofite to them they would difcover from analogy. The
jewel often lay buried for centuries, and cocks fcratched up the ground over
it; till at length perhaps it was found by fome unworthy mortal, and transferred
to the crown of a monarch, not always to fliine with beneficent (plendour.
You, however, performed your work, and gave pofterity a treafure, dug up by
your rcftlefs minds, or thrown into your lap by difpofing Fate. Thus alfo you
left to difpofing Fate the eficfts and ufes of your difcoveries, who has done with
them what feemed to her good. In periodical revolutions (he has either per-
feÄed thoughts, or permitted them to perifli, always contriving to mix and
correft the poifon with it's antidote, the injurious with the beneficial. The
inventor of gunpowder little thought, what deftrudtion both of the political
and phyfical powers of man would enfue from tlie explofion of his black duft ;
ftill Icfs could he fee, what we are fcarcely able to conjefture, how the bene-
ficent feeds of a different conftitution of pofterity will germinate from this bar-
rel of powder, the fearful throne of many a dcfpot. Does not thunder clear the
air ? When the giants of the Earth are dcftroyed, muft not Hercules himfelf
turn his hand to gentler works ? The man, who firft noticed the polarity of the
magnet, faw neither the happincfs nor mifery, that this magic gift, aided by a
thoufand other arts, would confer on every quarter of the Globe ; till here too,
perliaps, fome new cataftrophe will compenfate old evils, or engender new. So
it is with the difcoveries of glaf?, gold, iron, clothing, writing, printing, aftro-
nomy, and all the fciences. The wonderful connexion, that appears to pre-
vail in the developement and periodical improvement of thefe inventions ; the
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«44 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
lingular manner, in which one limits and mitigates the efTeft of others; all be-
long to the fovereign economy of God with regard to our fpecies, the true phi«
iofophy of our hiftory.
CHAPTER IV.
Governments are eßahliflted Regulations among Men^ chiefly founded on hereditary
Tradition.
The natural ftate of man is (bciety : for in this he is born and brought up
to this he is led by the awakening propcnfities of his youth j and the moft
pleafing appellations of father» fon, brother, lifter, lover, friend, are ties of the
law of Nature, tliat exift in every primitive fociety of men. On thefe too the
firft governments have been founded : family regulations, without which the
fpccics could not fubfift ; laws, that Nature gave, and fufficiently limited. Wc
will call this the firfi fiep of natural goroernment : it will ever remain the higheft,
and the laft.
Here Nature terminated her foundations of fociety, and left it to the rcafon
or neceflities of men, to ereft higher ftruftures upon them. In all thofe regions,
where particular tribes and races have lefs need of each other's afliftance, they
concern themfelves lefs about each other, and in confcquence have never thought
of forming one large political aflbciation. Such are the coafts inhabited by
fifliermcn, the pafturcs of the Ihepherd, the forefts of the hunter: in thefe,
where paternal and domeftic government ceafes, the feirther connexion between
men rs founded chiefly on compaft, or on fomc office conferred. A nation of
hunters, for inftance, proceed to the chace : if they want a leader, it is a leader
of the hunt ; and for this purpofe they eleft the moft (kilful, whom they obey
from their own free choice, and for the common end they have in view. All
animals that live in herds have fuch a leader : in journeyings, defences, attacks,
and all common occupations in general of a number, fuch a king of the game
is neccflary. Such an eftablilhment we will call the fecond fiep of natural govern-
ment : it is to be found among all people, that care for nothing but the fupply
of their wants, and live, as we term it, in the ftate of nature. Even the elefted
judge of a nation belongs to this ftep of government : for the wifeft and beft
is cht.fen to this poft, as to an office, and with the execution of his office his
foverci^^nty terminates.
But how different is it with the third ftep, hereditary government ! In this
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Chap. IV.] Governments founded im hti-editarj tradition. 445
'where do the laws of Nature ceafe ? or where do they begin ? That the moft
wife and juft of their fellows (hould be chofen by difputants as a judge, was in
the natural courfe of things; and when he had fo approved himfelf, he might
lemain fo as long as he lived. But when the old man dies, why is his fon to
be judge? His being begotten by a juft and wife father is no reafon; for nei-
ther wifdom nor juftice is hereditary. Still Icfs, from the nature of the cafe,
IB the nation bound to acknowledge him as fuch, becaufe his father was once
chofen judge for perfonal reafons : fince the fon is not the &ther. And if it
ihould think fit to eftablifh it as a law for all it's generations yet unborn, to
acknowledge him as judge, and enter into a compact, in the name of the reafbn
of them all to the end of time, that every future de(cendant of this ftem (hould
be bom the judge, leader, and fiiepherd, of the nation, in other words, the moft
valiant, juft, and wife, of the whole people, by every one of whom he (hould
be fo acknowledged to be on the fcore of his birth ; it would be difficult, to
xeconcile an hereditary compad of this kind, I will not fay with juftice, but
with reafon. Nature diftributes not her nobleft gifts to particular families ;
and the right of blood, according to which one unborn (hall have a claim to
nile over others yet unborn, in right of his birth, at whatever future period
they may happen to come into the World, is to me one of the moft obfcure
phrafes in human language.
There muft have been other grounds, that introduced hereditary govern-
ments among men ; and with refjpeft to thefe grounds hiftory is by no means
(ilent. What has given Germany, what has given polifhed Europe it's govern-
ments ? War. Hordes of barbarians overran this quarter of the Globe : their
leaders and nobles divided the land and the inhabitants among them. Hence
fprung principalities and fiefs : hence the villanage of the fubjugated people :
the conquerors were in poflcffion ; and all the alterations, that have taken place
in this poiTcflion in the courfe of time, have been determined by revolutions,
by war, by mutual secernent between the powerful, and in every cafe there-
fore by the law of the ftronger. Hiftory proceeds in this royal way, and hifto-
rical fadls cannot be difputed. What brought the World under the fway of
Rome? What made Greece and the eaft bow to the fceptre of Alexander?
What has founded all the monarchies, that have exifted fince the time of Se-
foftris and the fabulous Semiramis, and again overturned them ? War. Forci-
ble conqueft, therefore, has aflumed the place of right, and has afterwards be-
come law by courfe of years, or as our politicians phrafe it, by a tacit compadt :
but the tacit compad in this cafe is nothing more, than that the ftronger takes
what be will, and the weaker ^ves what be cannot preferye, or endures what
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246 PHlLOSOrHY OF HISTORY. [BookIX.
he cannot avoid. Thus tlic riglU of hereditary government depends, like al-
moil evciy other hereditary poflcflion, on a chain of traditions, the firft link
of which was forged by force or accident, and which has been drawn out occa-
fionally it is true by wifdom and goodncfs, but for the moft part either by for-
tune or force. Heirs and defendants received what their progenitor took :
and that to him, wJio has much, more is ever given, that he might have abun-
dance, requires no farther illuftrationj as it is the natural confequcnce of the
abovementioned firft poficfllon of lands and mon.
Let it not be fu})pcfed, that this is true of monarchies alone, as monfters of
conqueft, and that the primitive kingdoms may have had a different origin ;
for in what ether way could they poflibly have originated? As long as a father
ruled over his family, he was a father, and permitted his fons likewife to be-
come fatherst, over whom he fought no other fway than that of advice. As
long as feveral families chofe themfclves from their own free deliberation judges
or leaders for a particular purpofe, they who bore the office were only fervants
of the common weal, the appointed prcfidents of the focicty : the names of
fovereign, monarch, abfolute, arbitrary, hereditary defpot, were unknown to a
people fo conftituted. But if the nation flumbered, and left their fathec,
leader, and judge, to aft for thcm^ if, laftly, in drowfy gratitude, they put into
his hand, whether on account of his merit, power, wealth, or any other caufe,
4n hereditary fceptre, that he might conduft them and their children as a
fliepherd condudts a flock of (hccp^ what relation can we perceive between the
two parties, but that of feeblenefs on the one fide, and might on the other;
that is, in fad, the right of the ftronger ? When Nimrod firft killed beafts,
and afterwards fubjugated men, in both inftances he was a hunter. The
leader of a colony or horde, whom men followed like animals, foon availed him-
felf of the right of men over animals in his behaviour towards them. Thus it
was with thofe, by whom nations were civilized : while they were employed in
civilizing them, they were the fathers, the inftruftors, of the people, the main-
tainers of the laws for the general good : as foon as they became abfolute or
indeed hereditary rulers, they were the ftrong commanding the weak. A fox
often ftepped into the place of the lion, and then the fox was the ftronger :
for ftrength confifts not in force of arms alone j addrcfs, cunning, and artful
deceit, are commonly ftill more effedtual. In fhort, the great difference be-
tween men in the gifts of body, of mind, or of fortune, has eltablifhed dcfpo-
tifm and fervitude on the Earth, varying in form according to the country',
the age, or the way of life of the people ; and in many places one kind has
only given way to another. Warlike mountaineers, for example, have overrun
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Chap. IV.] Governments founded on hei-edttary ^raditioft. 247
the peaceful plains : climate» neceffity, want, had rendered tliem ftrong and cou-
rageous; accordingly they fpread themfelves over the Earth as it's lords, till
they were fubdued by luxury in milder climates, and then fell under the yoke
of others. Thus has our old Earth been a prey to violence j and it's hiftory
form« a melancholy pidture of hiaii-hunting, and conqucfts : almoft every 4ittle
Tariation of a boundary, every new epoch, is delineated in the book of Time with
the blood of human vidims, and the tears of the oppreffcd. The moft cele-
brated name: arc thofe of murderers of mankind, crowned or crownfeeking exe-
cutioners; and what is ftill more to be lamented, the worthieft men have often
been compelled by neceffity, to appear on the dark fcafTold, where the chains
of their brethren were forged. Whence comes it, that the hiftories of kingdoms
difplay fo few rational purpofes ? Becaufe the greateft and moft of their events
onginated not from any rational views : for the paffions, not humanity, have
overpowered the E^rth, and urged it's people like wild beafts againft each other.
Had it pleafed Providence, to permit us to be governed by fuperiour beings, how
different would the hiftory of man have appeared ! But inftead of this, they
have been for the moft part her^esy that is to fay ambitious men, pofTefTed of
power, or artful and enterpriziRg. who have fpun the thread of events under the
guidance of Paffion, and woven it as it pleafed Fate. If nothing clfc in the hif-
tory of the World indicated the inferiority of the human fpecies, the hiftory of
governments would demonftrate it; according to which the greater part of
our Earth merits not fuch a name, but that of Mars or child -devouring Sa«
turn.
Now (hall we complain of Providence for creating the different rcgrons of our
Earth fo diffimilar, and dividing her gifts fo unequally among mankind ? Such
a complaint would be idle and unjuft, for it would be at variance with the ob-
vious end of our fpecies. If the Earth were defigned to be inhabited, moun-
tains muft ncceflarily form a part of it, and their ridges muft proditce hardy
mountaineers. If thefe poured down and fubdued the voluptuous inhabitants
of the plains, the voluptuous inhabitants of the plains for the moft part de^
ferved this fubjugation : for why did they fuffer themfelves to be fubdued }
why flumbcred they on the lap of Nature in childidi luxury and folly } It may
be admitted as a principle in hiftory, that no people are opprcffed, but fuch as
fubmit to oppreffion, and confcquently defervc to be flaves. The coward only
is bom a flave ; the fimple. alone is deftined by Nature to ferve the wife : thus
each is in his place, and would be unhappy were he forced to command.
Befides, the inequality of men is not fo great by nature, as it is rendered by-
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24« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
education ; as the qualities of the very fame people under different forms of go-
vernment ihow. The nobleft nation foon lofes it's dignity under the yoke of
dcfpotifm J the very marrow is cruQied in it's bones ; and as it's fincft and
moft c:iquirite talents are abufed to the purpofes of falfchood and deceit, of
cravding fervility and diflblutc voluptuoufnefs, can we wonder, that it ultimately
habituates itfelf to the yokejkiffes it's chains, and decorates them with flowers ?
Lamentable as this fate of mankind is both in hiftory and in common life,
fince fcarcely a nation has ever rifcn afrefh out of the abyfs of habitual flavery,
without the miracle of a complete regenerations this wretchednefs is evidently
not the work of Nature, but of man. Nature extended the bonds of focicty
only to families : beyond that, (be left mankind at liberty to knit them, and to
frame their mod delicate work of art, bodies politic, as they thought proper. If
they framed them wifely, happinefs was their reward : if they chofe, or endured,
tyranny and bad forms of government, they had to bear the burden. Their good
parent could do no more than inftrud them by reafon, by the tradition of hif-
tory, or laftly by their own proper feeling of pain and mifcry. Thus the internal
degeneration of mankind alone made way for the vices and depravities of go-
vernments : for, even under the mod oppreffive defpotifm, has not the flave
always Quired with his lord in plunder, and is not the defpot always the greatefl
flave?
But our unwearedly beneficent mother abandons not her children in the
deepefl: degeneracy, contriving at lead to dimini(h the bitternefs of oppreflion
by forgetfulnefs and habit. As long as nations retain their vigilance and ac-
tivity, or where Nature feeds them with the hard bread of induflry, no effemi-
nate fultans exifl: : a rude land, a hardy way of life, are the guardians of their
freedom. On the other hand, where nations fleep on her fofter bofom, and
fuffer the net to be drawn over them, their confoling parent at Icaft aids the op-
preffed with her milder gifts : for defpotifm always prefuppofes a kind of feeble-
nefs, and confequently more conveniencies, anfing either firom the gifts of Na-
ture, or from thofe of art. In moft countries under defpotic government Na-
ture feeds and clothes man almoft without any labour, fo that he accommodates
himfelf to the pafling ftorm, and after it is over inhales the cool air, thought-
lefsly and ignobly indeed, but not without enjoyment. The lot of men, and
their deftination to earthly happinefs, are in general conne&ed neither with fer-
vitude nor dominion. The poor may be happy, the flave may be free in his
chains ; the defpot and his inftruments are for the moft part, and firequently
throughout their whole race, the moft miferable and unworthy of flaves.
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Chap. IV.] Gwemmems founded on hereditafy tradition. 249
As all the points on which I have thus far touched mufliTeCeive their proper
illuftration from hiftory, their difplay cannot be feparated from the thread of
it. For the prefent let me be permitted a few general hints.
I. A ready but bad fundamental principle of the philofophy of hiftory would
be : * man is an animal, that needs a maftcr, and muft derive the happinefs of
his deftination from this mailer, or from a connexion with him.* TJie propo-
rtion ought to be rcverfed : * the man who needs a matter is a mere animal ; as
foon as he becomes a man, a matter is no longer neceflary to him.* Nature has
pointed out no maftcr to the human fpecies : brutal vices and paffions render one
neceflary. The wife requires a hufband ; the huft)and, a wife ; the untutored
child has need of inttruAing parents ; the fick, of a phyfician \ the difputer, of
a judge ; the herd, of a leader. Thefe are natural relations, exitting in the no-
tions of the things themfelves. The idea of his wanting a defpot in the form of
a man like himfelf is not natural to the mind of man : we mutt firtt fuppofe him
weak, to need a protedtor ; incapable of managing his o^n concerns, to require
a guardian ; wild, that fome one may be neceflary to tame him \ deteftable, to
demand a minitter of vengeance. Thus all human governments arofe from ne-
ceflity, and exitt only in confequence of it*s continuance. As he is a bad father,
who educates his child in fucb a manner, that he may continue all his lifetime
in a ttate of incapacity, and never ccafe to want a tutor \ as he is a bad phyfi-
cian, who cherilhes a difeafe, that the poor patient may not be able to difpenie
with his attendance till death \ apply the fame reafoning to the teachers of the
human fpecies, to the others of countries and their pupils. Either thefe muft
be altogether incapable of improvement ; or, during the thoufands of years that
men have been governed, what they can become, and to what purpofes they have
been traiiK^d by their teaclicrs, muft be perceptible. The purpofes will clearly
be feen in the courfe of this work.
2. Nature educates families : the moft natural ftate therefore is one nation»
with one national character. This it retains for ages, and this is moft naturally
formed, when it is the objedt of it's native princes : for a nation is as much a na*
tural plant as a family, only with more branches. Nothing therefore appears to
dircdly oppofite to the end of government as the unnatural enlargement of ftates,
the wild mixture of various races and nations under one fceptre. A human
fceptre is far too weak and flendcr for fuch Incongruous parts to be engrafted
upon it : glued together indeed they may be into a fragile machine, termed a
machine of ftate, but deftitute of internal vivification and fympathy of parts.
Kingdoms of this kind, which render the name of fathers of their country
fcarccly applicable to tlic bcft of potentates, appear inliiftory like that type of
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2SO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
monarchies tn the vifion of the prcf>bet, where the lion's head, the dragon's tail,
the eagle's wings, and the paws of a bear, combined in one unpatriotic figure of
a ilate. Such machines are pieced tc^tber like the trojan horfe; guarantee-
ing one another's immortality, though, deftitute of national charafter, there is
no life in them, and notliing but the curfe of Fate, can condemn to immortality
the forced union : for the very politics that framed them are thofe, that play
with men and nations as with inanimate fubftances. But biftory fufficicntly
fliows, that thefe inftruments of human pride are formed of clay, and, like all
other clay, will diflblve, or crumble to pieces.
3. As, in all affociations between men, mutual afliftance and fecurity are the
chief ends of their union ; fo, in all ftates, the natural order is the bcft : namely,
that each of it's members fliould be what he was defigned by Nature. As foon.
as the fovereign fteps into the place of the creator, and, prompted by his own
will or paffions, endeavours to make the creature what God never intended : this
heaven-controlling defpotifm becomes the parent of every diforder, and inevit-
able misfortune. Now as all ranks of men eftabliflied by tradition counterad;
in a certain degree Nature, who has confined her gifts to no rank; it is not to
be wondered, that moft nations, after having tried various forms of government,
and experienced the inconveniencies of each, have at length recurred in defpair
to that which renders them altogether machines, to defpotic hereditary govern-
ment. They faid, like the king of the jews, when three evils were offered to
him : * let us rather fall into the hands of the lord, than into the hands of men:'
and furrendered themfelves at difcretion to the will of Providence, fubmitting
to whatever ruler Heaven might fend them : for the tyraimy of ariftocracy is a
fevere tyranny, and popular fway is a very leviathan. Accordingly, all chriftian
potentates ftylc themfelves fo by fhe grace o/Gvd; thus acknowledging, thai
they derive their crowns, not from their own merit, which indeed could not
exift before they were born, but from the will of Providence, which permitted
them to be born on a throne. The claim of defert they muft acquire by their
own labours ; with which it is incumbent on them to juftify Providence, for
acknowledging them worthy of their high office : fot the office of a prince is
nothing lefs than that of a god among men, a fuperiour being in a mortal form.
The few, that have been fenfible of this diftinguiflied calling, (hine like flars
amid the endlefs night, dark with clouds of ordinary rulers; and animate the
loft wanderer in his melancholy progrefs through the political hiftory of
mankind.
O for another Montefquieu, to feaft us with the fpirit of laws and go-
vernments on our Globe only during the centuries beft known to us ! not ac-
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Chat. TV.] Gavemmeftts founded on hereditary Tra£tm. ij i
cording to the empty names of three or four forms of government» which are
alike in no two places, and never remain the fame: not according to the politi-
cal maxims of ftates; for no ftafe is founded on verbal princi{^es, and dill lefs
could any one adhere to them invariably at all times, and under all circum-
(lances: not fix>m detached examples, taken from all nations, times, and cli-
tnates, out of which, in this confufion, the genius of our Earth himfelf could
not form a whole : but folely by a philofbphical animated reprcfentation of civil
hiftory ; in which, xmifoim as it appears, no one fcene occurs twice -, and which*
fearfully inftrudive, completes the pidure of the vices and virtues of mankind
«nd their governors, according to place and time always changing, always the
üuoe.
CHAPTER V,
Religion is tie mojl ancient andfacred Tradition npon the Earths
Weary and tbed of all thcfe changes of donates, times, and nations, can
we find on the Globe, no ftandard of the common property and excel-
lence of our fraternity ? Yes : the difpofition to reafon^ humanity, and religion,
the three graces of human life. All dates have had a late origin, and arts and
iciences havearilen in them (IUI later; but families are the eternal work of
nature, the progreffive eilablKhment, in which (he plants the feeds of humanity,
and fofters it's growth. Languages vary with eveiy people, in every clime;
but in all languages one and the fame typefearching human reafon is confpicu-
ous. Thus traces of religion, however different it's garb may be, are found even
among the pooreft and rudeft nations on the verge of the Earth. The green-
lander and kanxtfchadale, the pelheray and papoo, have notions o religion, as
cufloms or traditions (how : nay, were there a (ingle people totally deditute of
religion among the aniicans, or thofe favages of the indian iilands, who have
been compelled to hide themfelves in the woods, this very want would be a
proof of the highly favage ftage, to which they were reduced.
Now whence is <he religion of thefe people derived ? Can tbefe poor creatures
have invented their religious worfhip as a fort of natural theology ? Certainly
not; foe, abforbed in labovrr, they invent nothing, but in all things follow the
traditions of their forefathers. At the fame time, they have been totally dedi-
tute of hints for this invention from external objedls: for, if they learned to
make bows and arrows, fifliing tackle and clothing, from animals or from na-
tuie; iu what beaft, in what natural objedV, could they fee religion ? or from
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as* PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIX.
what one could they learn, to worfhip a deity ? Here therefore iradition kasbum
the propagator of their religiou andfacredriteSy as of their language and flight degree
of civilization.
Hence it direftly foUowSt that religious tradition could employ no other means,
than thofe ivhich were ufed by reafon and fpeechy namely fymbols. If thoughts, K>
be propagated, muft become words ; if every inftitution muft have a vifible
fign, in order to be tranfmitted to others and to pofterity ; how can that which
is unfeen be rendered perceptible, or an ancient hiftory be preferved to future
ages, but by words or charafters ? Hence, among the moft uncultivated people»
the language of religion is ever the moft ancient and obfcure ; often unintelli*
gible even to the initiated, much more to ftrangers. The moft cxpreffivc &•
cred fymbols of every people, however nicely adapted to the climate and na-
tion, frequently become void of meanii^ in a few generations. And no won-
der : for this muft happen to every language, to every inftitution with arbi-
trary charafters, unlefs they be often brought into comparifon with their ob-
jedts by common ufe» and thus retained in figniiicant remembrance. In reli-
gion thb adual comparifon is difficult» if not impra<5bicablei for the fymbol
refers either to an invifible idea, or an ancient hiftory.
Thus it muft inevitably follow, that^r/^j, the original philofophers of a nation^
could not ahvays remain Jo : for as foon as the (ignification of the fymbols were
loft to them, they muft become either the blind fervants of idolatry, or the
lying preachers of fuperftition. And fo they have ridily proved themfelves
almoft every where ; not from any particular propenfity to deception» but from
the natural courfe of things. In language, in every fcience, in every art and
inftitution, the fame deftiny prevails : the ignorant, who endeavours to fpeak,
or to teach an art, muft conceal, muft feign, muft diflemble: a falfe appear-
ance affuflies the place of loft truth. This is the hißory of all the myßeries upoa
Earth : at firft they concealed much, that was well worthy of being known ; but
in the end, particularly when the wifdom of men feparatcd itfelf from them,
they degenerated into defpicable nonfcnfe j and thus, the fanöuary being re-
duced to an empty (hell, the priefts at length became wretched deceivers.
They by whom the priefts were chiefly expofed as fuch were the princes and
philofophers. The princes, being foon led by their high rank, in which all
power was vefted, to the uncontrolled exercife of their own will, thought it
a duty of their rank, to reftrain an invifible fuperiour power, and confequently
to annihilale it*s fymbols, or tolerate them as wires to move the puppet people.
Hence the unhappy conflict between the throne and the altar in all lialf-civi-
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Chap. V.] Religion the moft ancient and /acred Tradition upon Earth. 2 Si
lized nations, till men at length attempted to unite them, and thus produced
to the world the incongruous ftrufture of a throne on the altar, or an altar on
the throne. In this unequal conteft, the degenerate priefts muft neceffarily
continue to lofe ground ; for invifible belief had to contend againft viiible
power, and the (hadovv of an ancient tradition againft the fplendour ofthat gol-
den fceptre, which the priefts themfelves had formerly confccrated, and placed
in the hand of the monarch. Thus with increafing civilization the days of
prieftly dominion paflcd away : the defpot, who originally wore his crown in
the name of the deity, now found it more eafy to fupp<5rt it in his own ; and
to this the people were accuftomed both by the fovereign and the philofo-
pher.
Now, in the firft place, it is unqueftionablc, that religion alone introduced the
firfi rudiments of civilization and fcience among all people i nayy that thefe rudiments
were originally nothing mwe than a kind of religious tradition. The little civiliza-
tion and fcience we find in all favage nations, even at prcfent, are connefted
with their religion. The language of their religion is an exalted folemn lan-
guage, which not only accompanies their facred rites with fong and dance, but
for the moft part proceeds from the tales of the primitive world ; and is accord^
ingly the only relic thefe people have of ancient ftory, their folc memorial of
antiquity, their fingle glimmer of fcience. The numbering-and obfervance of
days, the foundation of all chronology, is or was every where facred : the magi
of all quarters of the Globe appropriated to themfelves the knowledge of the
heavens and of nature, however humble it was. The arts of phyfic and (both-
laying, the occult fciences and interpretation t)f dreams, the knowledge of writ-
ing, ads of atonement to the gods, of fattsfadion to the dead and obtain-
bg accounts from them, in (hort, the whole of the dark realm of doubts,
refpeAing which human curioiity is ever on the wing, are in the hands of their
priefts; fo that, in many nations, one common worfhip, and religious feftivals^
arc all that imparts to independent families the (hadow of a whole. The hiftory
of civilization will (how, that this was the cafe with the moft cultivated nations.
The fcience of the egyptians, and of all the people of the eaft to the utmoft
verge of Afia, as well as of all the poliftied nations of antiquity in Europe, the
ctrufcans, greeks, and romans, began in the bofom and under the veil of relt-
gious tradition : thus were poetry and arts, mufic and writing, hiftory and phy-
fic, natural philofophy and mctaph) fics, aftronomy and chronolog}*, and even
morals and pohtics, imparted to them. The moft ancient philofophers did
nothing but feparate the feed that was given them, and raife plants from it;
and thefe plants continued to be propagated through fubfequent ages. We of
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»54. PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookIX.
the north, too, have received our fcicnccs in no other way but under the garb
of religion : fo that we may boldly affirm, from the hiftory of all nations, the
Earth is indebted for tlie feeds of all fuperiour degrees of cultivation to religious
traditions, oral or written.
Secondly. The nature of the cafe itfelf confirms this hiftorical aflertion : for
what railed man above the brute, and prevented him, even in his rudeft ftate»
from being degraded to the rank of a bcaft ? It will be faid, reafon and fpeech.
But as without fpeech he could not attain to reafon ; fo he could acquire neither
but by the obfervation of unity in multiplicity, by the perception of the invifi-
ble in the vifible, by the conneftiön of caufe with efFc<5t. Thus a kind of reli-
gious feeling of invifiblc operative powers, in the whole chaos of bcmg that
furrounded him, muft have preceded that firft formation and conneÄion of ab-
ftraft ideas, and formed tlieir bafis. Savages have this feeling of the powers of
nature, even when they have no epcprefs idea of God : a lively and aäive feeling,
as their idolatry and fuperftition evince. In all ienfitive ideas of merely vifible
things man adls like an animal : the conception of Something invifible in what
is vifible, of a power in it^s a&ion, muft lift him to the firft fteps of fuperiour
reafon. This conception is almoft the only one, re&rrible to tranfcendant rea-
fon, that uncultivated nations pofTefs, and which others have developed in a
greater variety of words. It is the &me with regard to tlie duration of the
foul after death. In whatever way men acquired this notion, man in dying is
diftinguiflied from the brute by this general article of belief alone. No favage
nation can philofophically demonftratc the immortality of the human ibul : which
is perhaps more than any one philofopher can do ; for even he can only confirm
by rational arguments the belief of this immortality, which is rooted in man's
heart : yet this belief is univerfal. Even the kamtfchadale difplays it, when be
places a dog by the fide of his dead ; as the new-hollander does, when he finks
the corpie of the deceafed in the fea» No nation buries it's dead, as a man
would bury a dog : every favage, when he dies, departs for the country of his
fathers, for the land of fouk. Thus religious traditions^ and the internal feeling
of an exiftence which knows no proper annihilsition, precede fcrutinizing reafon ;
elfe this would not eafily have attained the notion of immortality, or would
have presented it in an abftraA, unenergetLc form. Accordingly, the univerfal
belief in the continuance of our exiftence is the pyramid laifed by Religion over
the graves of all nations.
Laftly^ (hall the divine laws and rules of humanity, which diiplay them«
ielves, though but in fragments, among the moft fa^^age nations, have been
difcovered by icafoni after the lapie perhaps of thoulknds'of yean, and be in-
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Chap. V.] Religion the mofl ancient and/acred Tradition upon Earth. 255
debted for their foundation to this changeable image of human abftraftlon ?
I cannot think fo» even on the ground of hiftory. Had men been difperfed
over the Earth like brutes, to invent the internal form of humanity for them-
felves; we muft dill find nations without language, without reafon, without
peligion, and without morals : for as man has been, fo man is ftill. But no
hiftory, no experience,, informs us of any place where human ourang-outangs
dwell ; and the fables, which the late Diodorus, or ftill later Pliny, relates of
the men without feeling and other not human men, have the marks of falfhood
on the very face of them; or at leaft are not to be credited on the teftimony of
fuch writers. In like manner the accounts of the uncultivated nations of anti«
quity, which p-jets give to exalt the fame of their Orpheus and their Cadmus»
are certainly exaggerated : for the times in which thefe poets lived, and the aim
of thtir legends, exclude them from the rank of authentic hiftorians. To rea-
fon from the analogy of climate, no european, not to fay grecian, nation, has
ever been more favage, than the new-zealander or the pefheray : yet thefe fcarcc-
ly human beings poflefs humanity, reafon, and language. No cannibals de-
vour their children or brothers : their inhuman praftice is a favage right of
war, to nourirt) their valour, and terrify their enemies. It is, therefore, no-
thing more or lefs, than the work of a grofs political reafon j which in thofe
nations has overpowered humanity with regard to thefe few facrifices to their
country, as it is overpowered by us europeans, even in the prcfent day, in fome
other refpefts. Before ftrangers they are afhamed of this barbarous pradtice,
though we europeans blulh not at killing men : nay they behave nobly and like
brethren to every prifoner of war, on whom the fatal lot does not fall. All
thefe things, even when the hottentot buries his child alive, and the efkimaux
abridges the days of his aged parent, are confequences of lamentable necefSty ;
which, in the mean time, arc not inconfiftent with the original feeling of hu-
manity. Mifguided reafon, or unbridled luxury, has engendered many more
Angular abominations among us, to which the polygamy of the negro is not to
be compared. But as no one will on this account deny, that the figure of huma-
nity is engraven on the heart of the fodomite, the opprefTor, theaffafBn, though
almoft effaced by his licentious manners and pafSons ; permit me, after all I
have read and examined concerning the nations of the Earth, to confider this
internal difpofition to humanity to be as univerfal as human nature, or rather to
be properly fpeaking human nature itfelf. It is older than fpeoulative reafon,
which firft formed itfelf in man by means of obfervation and language ; nay,
which would have had no flandard in pra&ical cafes, had it not borrowed one
fix>m the obfcure image within us. If all the duties of man be merely con-
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256 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book IX.
ventional, invented by bimfclf as the inftrumcnts of happinefs, and confirm-
ed by experience j they inftantly ceafe to be my duties, if I renounce hap-
pinefs, their end. The fyllogifm of reafon is thus completed. But how en-
tered they into the head of him, who never fpeculated concerning happinefs,
and the means that produce it ? how came the duties of marriage, of parental
and filial affeftion, of focial and domeftic love, into the mind of man, before he
had gathered experience of the advantages and difadvantages attending each
of them, and thus muft have been in a thoufand difiercnt wap fomething lefs
than human, before he became a man ? No, benevolent God, thou didft not
leave thy creature to murderous chance. To the brute thou gaveft inftindt ;
and on the mind of man didft thou imprefs thy image, religion and humanity :
the outline of the ftatue lies there, deep in the block ; but it cannot hew out,
it cannot faftiion itfelf. Tradition and learning, reafon and experience, mufl
do this ; and thou haft fupplied fufEcient means. The rule of juftice, the
principles of focial rights, even monogamy as the fpecies of nuptial love moft
natural to man, afTedion towards children, gratitude towards friends and bene*
&äors, and even a fenie of the moft mighty and beneficent of beings, are traces
of this image, which, in this place and in that, are at one time fupprefled, at
another brought forward to view, but every where difplay, notwithftanding,
the primitive difpofitions of man, which he cannot renounce, wherever he per-
ceives them. Thefe difpofitions, and their improvement, form the proper king-
dom of God upon EsLTth ; of which all men are citizens, only in different dafles
and degrees. Happy he, who can contribute to the extenfion of this kingdom
of the true internal human creation ! he envies no inventor his knowledge, no
king his crown.
But who is the man, that will inform us, where and how this enlivening
tradition of religion and humanity arofe, and fpread to the utmoft borders
of the Earth, where it lofes itfelf in the obfcureft traces ? Who taught man Ian«
guage, which every child now learns fi^om others, and no one difcovers by his
own reafon? What were the firft fymbols man conceived, fo that the firft
germes of civilization came to nations under the veil of a cofinogony and reli-
gious ftories ? On what hangs the firft link of the chain of our fpecies, and it's
Ipiritual and moral formation? Let us hear what the natural hiftory of the
Earthy and the moft ancient tradition, tell us on thefe heads.
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I HI 1
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK X,
CHAPTER I.
Our Earth is an Earth peculiarly formed for it^s animate Creation.
A S the philofopher is much in the dark refpefting the origin of human
hiftory, and fingularities occur in it's remoteft periods» which will not
accord with this fyftem or with that» men have Men on the defperate mode of
cutting the knot» and have not only confidered the Earth as the rums of a
former habitation» but have fuppofed the human Ipecies tb be a remnant of
the former inhabitants of this planet» who efcaped perhaps in caves or moun-
tains» from the revolution of it*s Laft day. Thus it's reafon» arts» and traditions»
are treafures fiived from the wrecks of the primitive World ♦ ; whence on the
one hand» they appear from the beginning with a fplendour derived from the
experience of thoufands of years ; and on the other, never can be clearly traced»
while the remnant of the human fpecies has ferved like an ifthmus» at once to
unite and to confound the cultivation of two worlds. If this opinion were true,
there could be no fuch thing as a pure philofophy of the hiftory of man ; for the
human fpecies itfelf» and all it's arts» would be nothing more than the recrement
arifing from the deflruftion of a former world. Let us inquire what founda-
tion there is for an hypothefis» which makes an inexplicable chaos of our
Earth itfelf, and of the hiftory of it's inhabitants.
In the original formation of our earth, in my opinion, it has none : for the
firft apparent ravages and revolutions it has undergone prefuppofe no ancient
hiftory of man, but belong to the creative fcrics, by which our Earth was
• See in particular the acute EiTay on the philofophers have maintained in common the
Origin of the Difcovery of Truth and Science, hypothefis, that our Globe is loaned from the
Vtr/ucb ueber den Ur/prung dtr Erkenntnijt dtr ruins of another world« on very different
Wabrhtit» tsfc. Berlin« 1781. Many natural grounds.
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±SS PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book X.
Tendered habitable *. The ancient granite, the kernel of our Globe, exhibits,
as far as we have any knowledge of it, no trace of organic beings deftroycd :
we neither find any fuch included in it, nor do it's component parts pre-
require them. It's highefl: pinnacles probably rofe above the waters of the
creation, for they difcover no marks of the aftion of a fea : but on thefe bare
heights no human being could find nourifliment, or even breathe. The air,
that furrounded thefe maffes, was not yet feparated from water and fire :
loaded with the various fubftances, which depofited themfelves in various
combinations, and at various periods, on the bafis of the Earth, and gradually
gave the World it's form, it was equally as incapable of fupporting the refpiration
of the moft exquifite creature upon the Globe, as of imparting to it the breath
of life. Thus the firft living creatures muft have originated in water : and this
was endued from it's formation with a primitive creating power, which could
yet aft no where clfe, and accordingly firft organized itfelf in an infinite mul-
titude of (hcllfiOi, the only animals, that could live in this teeming fea. As
the formation of the Earth proceeded, their deftru6tion largely enfued, and their
fcattered parts became the bafes of finer organizations. In proportion as the
primitive rock was freed from water, and enriched by it's depofits, or the elementary
particles and organized beings mingled with it ; the vegetable creation fucceeded
to that of the waters, and on every naked region what could vegetate vegetated.
But no land animal could yet live in this hothoufe of the vegetable kingdom.
On heights, on which the plants of Lapland now grow, we find petrified pro-
dudlions of the torrid zone ; a clear proof, that their atmofphere had once the
heat of the equatorial regions. Yet this atgaofphere muft already have been
rendered in a confiderable degree more pure, fince fo many fubftances had been
precipitated from it, and fince the life of a tender plant requires light : but as no
animal, that lives on the face of the Earth, not to fay no human ikeleton, has
ever been found along with thefe impreflions of vegetables, it is highly probable,
that no fuch animal then exifted, becaufe no nourifliment was yet ready for it,
and becaufe the matter, out of which it was to be formed, was not yet prepared.
Thus we proceed, till in very fuperficial ftrata of fand or clay the fkeletons of
the elephant and rhinoceros firft appear : for thofe bones, that occur in deeper
ftrata, which feme have fancied to be human, are altogether equivocal, and
more accurate examiners of nature have declared them to be the remains of
aquatic animals. Thus Nature b^an on the Earth with the creatures of the
• The h&s, on which the following aflertion» from Baffbn and others, that I Ihal] not make
are bnilt, are fcattered through vanous modern a parade of quoting aathorities for every thing
bocks of geolog/j and are in part fo well known I advajBce.
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Cfi AP. I.] Our Earth formed for it^s animate Creation. »59
wanncft climates, and as it appears, with the moft bulky j as in the fea flic
firft produced the muled Ihell-filh and lai^e cornua ammonis : at lead it is
certain, that among the numerous ikeletons of elephants, which have been
waOied together at a late period, and in fome places preferred even with their
ikins, fnakes, marine animals, and the like, have been found, but 00 human
bodies. And even had human bodies been difcovered, they would have been
unqueftionably of a very modem date, compared with the ancient mountams,
in which none of thefe remains of living creatures exift. So fays the moft
ancient book of the Earth ; thus it is written on it's leaves of marble, lime,
(and, ilate, and clay : and what fays it for a new formation of the Globe, which
a race of men, whofe remains we are, had furvived ? All it fays tends rather to
prove, that our Earth has Miioned itfelf, from it's chaos of fubftances and
powers, through the animating warmth of the creative fpirit, to a peculiar and
original whole, by a feries of preparatory revolutions, till at laft the crown of
it's creation, the exquifite and tender creature man, was enabled to appear.
Tfaoie fyftems, therefore, which talk of various changes of the poles and cli-
mates, of reiterated deftrudions of an inhabited and cultivated foil, of the
driving of men firom region to i^on, or of their graves under rocks and feas,
and depidfc nothing but horrour and deftrudion in all ancient hiftory, are con-
tradiftory to the £eibric of the Earth, or at leaft unfupported by it, notwith-
ftanding all the involutions it has unqueftionably undergone. The fiiTures and
veins in ancient ftones, or the broken walls of our Earth, fay nothing of a
habitable World before the prefent : nay, had fate melted together the ancient
ma(s, afiuredry no living renmant of the primitive World could have furvived.
The Earth, therefore, as it now is, as well as the hiftory of it's inhabitants,
itmains a fimple and complete problem to be folved by the inquirer. Let us
proceed then, and aik :
CHAPTER IL
fVhere was the Place of the Formation andmofi ancient Abode of Man f
That this place could have been no late-formed verge of the land requires no
proof; we recur immediately, therefore, to the fummits of the eternal, primi-
tive mountains, and the lands gradually annexed to them. Have men fprung
up every where, as every where ihell-fifli have (prung up ? Did the Mountains
^ the Moon produce negroes, the Andes americans, Ural the afiatics, and
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i6o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor X,
the Alps of Europe europeans ? and had each of the principal mountains of the
World it's own variety of the human fpecies ? As every region of the Earth
has it's peculiar fpecies of animals, which cannot live elfewhere, and confe-
quently muft have been born in it, why (houkl it not have it's own race of
men ? and are not the varieties of national features, manners, and charader, and
particularly the great difference in languages, proofs of this ? No one of my
readers can be ignorant of the dazzling light, in which thefe arguments have
been placed by many learned and acute inveftigators of hiftory, (b that they
have at length confidered it as one of the mod ftrained hypothefes^ to fuppofe,
that Nature could every where produce apes and bears, but not men ; and
thus, in complete contradiction to the courfe of her other operations, expofe
the moil delicate of her creatures to a thoofand perils, by this Angular fru-
gality, in creating only a fingle pair. * Behold even now,' they fiiy, * the
prodigality of all-teeming Nature ! What innumerable germes, not only
of plants, but of animals and man, does (he fcatter into the lap of Deftrudkion !
And is it poiTble, that at the very junfture when the human fpecies was to be
produced, our prolific mother, whofe virgin youth was fo rich in the feeds
of all beings and forms, that, as the ftrudure of the Earth (hows, (he could
facrifice millions of living creatures at one revolution, to produce new kinds,
(hould have exhaufted herfelf in inferiour beings, and have completed her wild
labyrinth of life with two weak human creatures ?' Let us examine how far
this apparently brilliant hypothefis anfwers to the progrefs of the civilizatioa
and hiftory of our fpecies, or is confiftent with it's form, charadker, and
relation to the other living creatures of the Earth.
In the firft place, it is evidently contrary to Nature, that all living beings
(hould have received life in equal number, or at the Ikme time : the ftruÄure
of the Earth, and the internal conftitution of the creatures, render this impof-
fible. Elephants and worms, lions and animalculse, exift not in equal num-
bers : from their eflence, too* they could not have been created originally in
like proportions, or at the fame time. Millions of teftaceous animals muft
have periflicd, before the bare rock of our Earth could have been covered
with a foil to nourifli more exquifitc hfe : a world of plants is deftroyed
annually, to fupport the life of fuperiour creatures. Thus, fetting the final
caufcs of the creation altogether afide, the making of one out of many, and the
deftruftlon of multitudes' by the revolving wheel of creation, for the purpofe
of animatip.g lefs numerous but more noble productions, arife out of the very
fubftance of Nature. Thus flie proceeded on an afcending fcalc ; and while
(he every where left enough of feed, to maintain thofe fpecies, which (be meant
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Chap. IIJ Place of MmCs Formation. 26t
to perpetuate, (he cleared the way for others more feleft, more exquifite, and of ^
fuperiour order. If man were to be the crown of the creation, he coiild not have
the fame mafs, the fame day of produftion, the fame place, and the fame dwel-
ling, as the fifli, or the fea-blubber. His blood was not to be water: and
therefore the vital warmth of Nature muft have been fo far elaborated and re-
fined, as to give it redness. All his veflels and fibres, and even his bony frame
itfelf, were to be formed from the pureft clay : and as the omnipotent afts but
by fecond caufes, fuch caufes muft have previouily prepared the materials for
this purpofe. Such had pervaded even the grolfer animal creation : when and
where each animal could arifc, it arofe : energies tlironged through every gate,
and formed themfelves to life. The cornu ammonis exiftcd before the fifli :
the plant preceded the animal, which could not live without it : here crawled
the crocodile and caiman, before the fagacious elephant there waved his trunk,
and fclefted his food. Carnivorous animals prerequired a numerous and al-
ready much increafed progeny of fuch as were to form their nouriihment : con-
fequently they could not come into exiftence at the fame time, and in equal
number with thefe. Man, too, if he were to be the inhabitant of the Earth,
and the lord of the creation, muft ßnd his habitation and his kingdom prepared:
and accordingly muft come late, and in fmaller number than thofe he was to
govern. If Nature could have produced from the materials of her terreftrial ma-
nu&&ory any thing more exquifite, more beautiful, and fuperiour to man, why
(hould (he not have produced it ? And her not having done this Ihows, that
with man (he clofed her work, and now completed with the choiceft frugality
the forms, which (he had commenced with the moft abundant fuperfluity in the
depths of the fea. * God created man,* fays the moft ancient written tradition,
• in his own image : in the likenefs of God he created him, one man and one
woman : after the multitudes he had created, the fmalleft number : there he
rcfted, and created nothing more.' This was the fummit, that completed the
Eving pyramid.
Now where could this fummit be placed ? Where did the pearl of the fini(hed
Earth difplay itfelf ? NeceflTarily in the centre of the moft aftive organic powers,
where, if I may «be allowed fuch expre(rions, the creation was moft widely ex-
tended, and moft exquifitely laboured. And this could be no where, perhaps,
but in Afia, as the ftrufture of the Earth itfelf gives us room to conjedlure. In
A(ia were thofe great and extenfive heights of the Globe, which the waters never
covered, and the rocky ridges of which branched out far and wide. Here too
was the greateft attraftion of aftive powers; here friftion circulated the elcdric
Ibeam -, here the materials of prolific chaos were moft «^bundaxitly precipitated.
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i62 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
The moft fpacious quarter of the Globe was formed round thefc mountains, as
it's figure (hows : and on thefe mountains lived the greater number of all the
f]iccies of the animal creation» which probably roamed over them in the enjoy-
ment of exiftence, while the reft of the World lay under water» fcarcely exhi-
biting the naked or woodcrowned fummits of it's mountains. The mountain,
that Linne imagined as the hill of creation *, exifts in nature: not merely as a
mountain, but as an extenfive amphitheatre, a conftellation of mountains, the
arms of which ftretch out into various climates. * I muft obferve,' lays Pallas -f ,
* that all thue animals, which live in a tame ftate in the northern or fouthern
countries, are to be found wild in the temperate climate of the middle of Afiaj
the dromedary excepted, neither fpecies of which thrives out of Africa, or can
be brought to endure the climate of Alia without difficulty. The native places of
the wild ox and the bui&lo, of the mufimon, from which our flieep are defcended,
of the bezoar-goat and ibex, the intermixture of which has produced the fertile
race of tame goats, are to be found in the mountainous chains, that embrace the
middle of Afia and part of Europe. The rebdeer abounds on the high moun-
tains, that fkirt Siberia, and cover it's caftcrn parts, where it is employed as a
beaft of draught and burden. It is alfo to be found on the Uralian chain»
whence it has fpread into the more northern countries. The camel with two
bunches is to be found wild in the great deferts between Tibet and China.
Wild fwine inhabit the woods and morafles throughout all the temperate part
of Afia. The wild cat, from which our domcftic cat is derived, is fufficiently
known. Laftly, the chief breed of our domcftic dogs is certainly defcended
from the jackal i though I do not think it*s blood wholly uncontaminated, for
I am perfuaded, that it has been intermixed, from a very remote period, with
that of the common wolf, the fox, and even the hyena, which has occafioned the
extreme variety of fize and figure in our dogs.* Thus Pallas. And who is xin-
acquainted with the richnefs of Afia, particularly of it's ibuthern countries, ia
natural produftions ? It appears, as if not only the moft fpacious, but alfo the
moft fertile land, had fettled itfelf round thefe the lofticft heights of the Globe,
attrafting to itfelf from the beginning the greateft (hare of organic warmth.
The moft fagacious elephants, the moft cunning apes, and the moft lively ani-
mals, are produced in Afia : and, notwithftanding it's decline, it has probably,
with regard to genetic difpofition, the moft ingenbus and exalted men.
• Lintuei AmanitMtis academics. Vol. II, p. Materials for Phyfical Geography, Beyträg^
4^9, Difcourfe on the habitable World. ThU xur phjifikaH/cbtn Erabt/cbrtibun^, Vol 111, p.
oration has been repeatedly tranflated. tjo, and ellewhere.
f Remarks on Mountains, tranflated in the
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Chap. IT.] flace of Matt i Formation. 265
But what is to be fald of the other quarters of the Globe ? It is demonftrable
from hiftory, that Europe was fupplied both with men and animals chiefly from
Afia, and was probably in great part covered with water, or with.forefts and mo^
lafles, when the higher land of Afia was already cultivated. With the interiour
part of Africa, indeed^ we have yet but little acquaintance : both the figure and
altitude of it's central ridge of mountains in particular are totally unknown to
us : yet it is on many accounts probable, that this ridge, in a quarter of the
Globe fo fcantily watered, and having fuch extenfive traäs of low ground, can
fcarcely equal in height and breadth that of Afra. This continent, therefore,
was probably covered for a longer period ; and though the torrid zone has not
lefuled the animal or vegetable creation there a peculiar, powerful impreflion,
yet it appears, as if Africa and Europe were but children, hanging to the bread
of their mother Afia. Thefe three quarters of the Globe have mofl animals in
common, and form on the whole but one continent.
Laftly, when we confider the fleep mountains, too lofty to be inhabited, that
ftretch through America, their flill raging volcanoes, the low land at their feet,
large traäs of which are on a level with the fea, and it's living creation, which
coniifb principally of plants, amphibia, infedbs, and birds, with fewer fpecies of
the more perfeft and lively animals enjoyed by the old World ; and when to
thefe we add the rude immature governments of it's nations in general \ it will
be difficult to conceive, that this continent was the earlieft inhabited. Compai^
with the other half of the Globe, it rather offers to the natural philofopher a
rich problem of the difference between two oppofite hemifpheres. Even the
beautiful valley of Quito could not eafily be the birthplace of an original couple
of human beings, ready as I fhould be to allow this honour to it, and to the
Mountains of the Moon in Africa, and unwilling to contradid any one, who
fiiould difcover proofs of it.
But enough of mere conjedture, which I wifh not to be abufed, fo as to deny
the Omnipotent power and materials to create men, wherever he pleafed. The
word, that every where filled both fea and land with their proper inhabitants,
could alfo have given each quarter of the Globe it's native lord, had it thought
fit. But are there not reafons difcoverable in the character of man, as hitherto
luifolded, why it did not think proper ? We have feen, that the reafon and hu-
manity of man depended on education, language, and tradition : and that in
this refpedk he difTcFS totally from the brute, which brings it's infallible inflindt
into the World witii it. If this be fo, man could not, from his fpccific cha-
laÄer, have been generally difperfed over the defert Worid like the beafls. The
tree, which could every where be propagated by art alone, was rather to fpring
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a64 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor X.
from one root, in a place where it would profpcr bed, where it could be fos-
tered by him, by whom it was planted. Mankind, deftined to humanity, were
to be from their origin a brotherly race, of one blood, and formed by one guid-
ing tradition ; and thus the whole arofe, as each individual family now rifes»
branches from one dem, plants from one primitive nurfery. In my opinion,
this ftriking plan of God with r^rd to our fpecies, which diftinguiflies it in it's
very origin from the brute, mud appear the mod adequate, beautiful, and ex-
cellent, to every one, who weighs the charaöeridics of our nature, the frame and
quality of our reafon, the mode by which we acquire ideas, and the manner in
which humanity is fafliioned in us. According to this fcheme, man was the
fevourite of Nature, whom (he produced, as the fruit of her matured indudry,
or, if you pleafe, as the child of her age, in the fpot which (he deemed bed for
her tender ladling. Here (he fodered him with maternal hand, and placed
around him whatever could promote from the beginning the formation of his
human charader. As only one kind of human reafon was pofTible upon this
Earth, and as Nature therefore produced but one fpecies of rational creatuits»
fhe left this creature capable of reafon, to be educated in one fchool of language
and tradition, and took upon herfelf this education through a feries of genera-
tions from one origin.
CHAPTER III.
Hißory^ and the Progrefs of Civilization^ afford hißorical Proofs^ that the human
Species originated in Afia,
Whence are all the nations of Europe? From A(ia. Of mod of them wc
Jcnow this with certainty : we know the origin of the laplandcrs, fins, germans
and goths, gauls, flavians, celtsj cimbrians, and others. Partly from their lan-
guages, or the remains of their languages, and partly from accounts of their an-
cient feats, we can trace them to a confiderable didance on the borders of the
Black Sea, or in Tatary, where fome remains of their languages dill exid. We
know Icfs of the defcent of other nations, becaufe we arc lefs acquainted with
their early hidory : for the ignorance of former times alone makes them in-
digenes. If Buettner, the abled philologer of all, who liave dudied the hidory
of ancient and modern nations, would impart to us the treafures his modcdy
conceals, and trace, as he undoubtedly could, a feries of nations to their pa-
rental dock, of which they themfelves are ignorant^ he would confer no (mall
benefit on mankind *,
* This learned man is bqfied in a work of this kind on a very «omprehenfive plan.
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Chap. III.] Man originated in Aßa. 265
The origin of the africans and americans, it muft be confeffcd, is more ob-
fcure : but from all we have learned of the northern frontier of Africa, and a
comparifon of the moft ancient traditions refpefting the origin of it's inhabitants,
it is afiatic. As we proceed fouthward we muft be fatisfied, if we find nothing
in the negro figure and complexion inconfiftent with this origin, but rather a
progreffive climatic change of national features, as was attempted to be (hown
in the fixth book of this work. America more recently peopled is in a fimilar
predicament ; the appearance of it's natives renders it probable, however, that
they originally came from the eaftern parts of Afia.
But the languages of nations are lefs equivocal than their features r and where,
throughout the whole Earth, are the moft anciently cultivated languages to be
found ? In Afia. Would you fee the miracle of people fpeaking fimple mono-
fyllabical languages throughout a fpace of fome thoufands of miles ; vifit Afia.
The countries beyond the Ganges, Tibet and China, Pegu, Ava, Arracan, and
Brema, Tonquin, Laos, Cochin-China, Cambodia, and Siam, converfe in fimple
uniniledted monofyllables. It is probable, the early rules of their language and
writing fixed this ; for in this corner of Afia, the moft ancient inftitutions have
remained in almoft all things unchanged. Would you have languages, the
extreme and almoft fuperabundant copioufnefs of which is connefted with a
very few roots, fo that they combine richnefs and poverty, with a fingular regu-
larity and the almoft childilh art of expreflSng a new idea by a trifling change
of the radical word ; obferve the fouth of Afia, from India to Syria, Arabia, and
Ethiopia. The language of Bengal has feven hundred roots, the elements of
leafon as it were, firom which nouns, verbs, and all the other parts of fpeech are
formed. The hebrew and it's cognate languages, fo very different in kind as
they arc, excite aftonifliment, when their ftrufture is confidered, even in the
moft ancient writings. All their words may be traced up to roots of three
letters, which at firft too were probably monofyllables, but afterwards, through
the means of their peculiar alphabet in all likelihood, were brought into this
form at an cariy period, and thence by means of very fimple additions and in-
flcftions the whole language was conftrufted. In the poliflied arabic language,
for example, an infinite copioufnefs of ideas is compofed from a few roots 5 fo
that the patchwork of moft european languages, with their ufelefs auxiliaries
and tedious inflexions, cannot be more ftrikingly difplayed, than by comparing
them with the languages of Afia. Hence, too, thcfe arc diflicult for an european
to learn in proportion to their age j for he muft relinquifh the ufelefs riches of
his own tongue, when he approaches their finely conceived and deeply regulated
hieroglyphic of the invifible language of thought.
a
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266 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
The moft certain mark of the cultivation of a language is it's writing: the
more ancient this is, and the more art and refledlion it difplays, the more high]}-
polifhed is the language. Now, if we except the fcythians, perhaps, who werc
alfo an afiatic people, no european nation can boaft of the invention of an al-
phabet: in this point the jxoplc of Europe rank as barbarians with the negro
and amcrican. To Afia alone belonged tb.e art of writing, and this in the moft
ancient times. The earlicft poliilicd nation of Europe, the greeks, borrowed an
alphabet from the eaft ; and Bucttner's tables (how, that all the reft of the al-
phabetical characTccrs ufcd in Europe were borrowed, or altered, from thofe of.
the greeks *. The moft ancient literal writing of the egyptians alio, as it ap-
pears on their mummies, is phenician, and, like the coptic alphabet, a corrupt
greek. Among the negroes and americans nothing like an originally invented
alphabet is to be fuppofed ; for even the mexicans never went beyond their
rude hieroglyphics, or the peruvians beyond their knotted cords. Afia, on the
other hand, has exhaufted the art of writing as it were in letters and artfui
hieroglyphics, fo that among it's charafters may be found almoft every kind, to
which human fpcech may be limited. The bengal alphabet has fifty confonants,
and twelve vowels : the chinefe out of their multitude of charafters have chofcn
no lefs than a hundred and twelve as vowels, and thirty fix as confonants. The
tibetian, fingalefe,. mahratta, and mantchou alphabets are conftrufted on fimi-
lar principles, though the dircftions of the ftrokes, that form their chanuftcrs,
vary. Some of the afiatic alphabets are evidently fo ancient, that we may ob-
fbrve, how the language has been formed with them, and to them ; and the
beautifully fimple writing on the ruins of Perfepolis is altogether unintelligible
to us.
If we proceed from the inftruments of civilization to civilization itfclf, where
did it earlier appear, or where could it appear earlier, than in Afia ? whence it
was farther propagated through channels, of which we are not ignorant. The
fovereignty over animals was one of tlie firft fteps towards it; and in Afia this
may be traced back beyond all the revolutions of hiftory. Not only that, as
has been (hown, the greater number of animals, and the more tameable, were
to be found on this primary mountain of the World ; but the fociety of men
tamed them fo early, that our moft ufeful animals, the flieep, goat, and dog,
had their origin probably from this ciicumftance, and are in faft new fpecies
of animals produced by afiatic art. If a man would place himfelf in the centre
• See Comparative Tables of the Writing of various '^^SlQra^FtrgkicbMmit'tafeUJtr Scbriftatiem
wrfebitdner Valker, by Bttcttner: GottingCD, 1771.
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Chap. III.] Man originated in Aß a. 267
of the diftribution of tame animals, he muft repair to the heights of Afia: the
more diftant from thefc, reckoning on the grand fcale of nature, the fewer tame
animals are to be found. In Afia, even to it's fouthern iflands, every place
abounds with them : in New Guinea and New Zealand we find only the dog
and the fwine ; in New Caledonia, the dog alone \ and throughout the whole
extent of America, the guanaco and llama were the only tame animals. The
bed breeds in Afia and Africa, too, are of the nobleft and moft beautiful kind.
The dihiggetai and arabian horfe, the wild and tame afs, the argali and the
flieep, the wild and Angora goat, are the pride of their fpecies : the fagacious
elephant was managed with the greateft art in Afia from the earlieft times, and
the camel was indifpenfable to this quarter of the Globe. Africa comes next
to Afia with regard to the beauty of fome of thefe animals ; but in the manage-
ment of them is far behind. Europe b indebted to Afia for all it's tame ani-
mals ; being able to reckon as it's own only fifteen or fixteen wild fpecies, chiefly
mice or bats *
The cultivation of the Earth and it's plants have proceeded in a fimilar
manner. A great part of Europe at a very late period was covered with wood;
and it's inhabitants, if they lived on vegetable food, could procure only roots
and wild herbs, acorns and crabs. In many of the regions of Afia, of which
we are fpeaking, com grows fpontaneoufly, and huftandry dates from time im-
memorial. The fineft firuits of the Earth, the grape and the olive, the orange
and the fig, the pomegranate and the almond, nuts, chefnuts, and all the pro-
duAions of our gardens and orchards, were firft brought from Afia into Afirica
and Greece, and thence fpread into remoter countries. A few other vegetables
wc have derived from America: and with refpeft to moll we know both the
place fi"om which they were procured, and the time when they were introduced.
And thefe gifts of Nature were conferred on mankind by the aid of tradi-
tion : no wme is produced in America, and vineyards have been planted in
Africa only by the hands of europeans.
That arts and fciences were firft cultivated in Afia, and in the adjacent coun-
try of Egypt, requires no elaborate proof. Ancient monuments, and the hif-
tory of nations, affirm it; and the teftimonies adduced by Goguet-f are in
every hand. In this part of the World both the ufcful and fine arts have been
purfued very early, in fome place or other, but every where in the marked afia-
• Seie Ziinnieniuinn*6 Geographical Hiftoryof di lew Progrts cht» Us antietn Pcupks, • The
Man, Qtographifebi Gtfibichtt ätr Mnfehwi Origin of Laws, Aits, aod Sciences, and their
VaI.IU, p. 1S3. Progrefs among the Ancients/ 3 vols. 410.
t L*OriiiMi dit L9ix, ia Artf^ in Sciiwatt (^ 1 758.
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268 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookX.
tic tafte ; as the ruins of Perfepolis, and the hindoo temples, the pyramids of
Egypt, and many other works, of which there are ftill remains, or of which ac-
counts are handed down to us, fufEciently prove: for almoft all of thefe were prior
to the civilization of Europe, and in Africa and America there is nothing to
compare with them. The lofty poetry of many of the fouthern afiatics isuni-
verfally known * : and the more ancient it is, the more it difplays of that no-
blenefs and fimplicity juftly called divine. What acute thought, nay I may
fay what ingenious hypothefis, has ever entered into the mind of a modern in-
habitant of the weft, the germe of which is not difcoverablc in fome earlier
caftern maxim or fiäion ? at Icaft if the foundations of it were within the
fphere of an afiatic's knowledge. The trade of the afiatics is the moft ancient
upon Earth, and the moft important inventions relative to commerce arc theirs.
So are aftronomy and chronology. Without laying the leaft ftrcfs on the hy-
pothefes of Bailly, who can avoid aftonilhment at the early and extcnfive pro-
pagation of many aftronomical obfervations, periods, and praftices, to which
the moft ancient nations of A(ia have a claim not eafy to be difputed -f ? It
feems as if their ancient philofophers were particularly the philofophcrs of the
heavens, the obfervers of filently progreffive time ; this calculating, numbering
fpirit difplaying it's efFefts among them then, as it does even now, notwith-
ftanding the deep decline of many of their nations J. The bramin reckons im-
menfe fums by memory: the divifions of time, from the fmalleft meafure to
the grcatcft revolutions of the heavens, are familiar to his mind; and he com-
mits few miftakes in them, though he has none of the helps, which europeans
employ. Antiquity has tranfmitted to him the formulae, which he now docs
nothing but apply : and even our divifion of the year is afiatic ; our arithmeti-
cal figures, and the conftellations of our aftronomers, are of egyptian or indian
origin.
Laftly, if forms of government be the moft difficult of the arts of civilization,
where do we find the moft ancient and extcnfive monarchies ? where have the
empires of the World found their firmeft eftabliflimcnt ? China has maintained
it's ancient conftitution for fome thoufiinds of years : and though this unwar-
like country has been more than once overrun by tatar hordes, the vanquiflied
have always civilized their vanquifhers, and inured them to the chains of their
* See Jona Pec/coi Jfiatic, Ctmmintar,^ * A i*Inde,*VoyKgt in the Indian Seas:' Walteren
Commenury on Sir W. Jones's Pttfes Jfiatic4t* the Indian Computation of Time, appended to
t See Bailly*! Hißcirt it l*Jßronemi* ancitimt, Beger's Hiftoria Rtgni Grätnrum SsaHsm,
«HilloryoftheAltronomy of the Ancients.' > Hiftoiy of the BaArian Kingdom of the
} See le Gentil's Ft^M^t Jam lu Mtn ii Greeks/ Peterflmrg» 1738.
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mm
Crap. III.] Man originated in Aßa. z€g
old conftitution. What fpxm of government in Europe con make a fimilar
boaft ? The moft ancient hierarchy upon Earth reigns on the mountains of
Tibet : and the cafts of the hindoos indicate their primeval eftablilhment, from
the deeprooted power» which has been for ages a fecond nature to the gentled
of people. Warlike or peaceable eftablifticd monarchies, on the Tigris and Eu-
phrates, on the banks of the Nile and the mountains of Media» interfere in the:
hiftory of the weftern nations in the remoteft times : and even on the heights
of Tatarjr the unreftrifted liberty of the hordes was interwoven with a defpotifm
of the khans, whence the principles of many european forms of government
have been derived. From every corner of the World, the nearer we approach
Afia, the nigher we come to firmly eftabliftied kingdoms, in which the unli-
mited power of the monarch has been for thoufands of years fo deeply imprefled
on the minds of the people, that the king of Siam laughed at a nation without
a king, as an abortive birth deftitute of a head. The moft eftabliflied defpo-
tifms in Africa are feated neareft to Afia : the more diftant they are from it,
the ruder the ftate of tyranny, till at length it is loft among the caffrcs in
the patriarchal condition of the ftiepherd. In the fouthern ocean, the nearer
we come to Afia, the deeper we find arts, manufadtures, pomp, and the
IJKDufe of pomp, monarchical delpotifin, rooted : the farther we are from
it, as in the remote iflands, in America, and on the barren verge of the
fouthern world, the more fimple conftitutions of fociety occur in a ruder ftate,.
the freedom of voices and independance of families ; fo that fome hiftorians
have deduced even the two americ^m monarchies of Mexico and Peru from
the neighbourhood of defpotic governments in Afia. The general afpeft of
this quarter of the Globe, particularly about the mountains, indicates the
moft ancient habitation : and the traditions of it's nations, with their religions
and computations of time, afcend, as is well known, to the primitive ages*
All the mythologies of the europeans and africans, from whom I exclude the
Egyptians, and ftill more of the americans and inhabit -nts of the wcftcrn iflands
of the Pacific Ocean, are but fcattered fragments of modern fables, compared
with the gigantic ftruftures of ancient cofmogony in India, Tibet, the old
Chaldea, and even in the much inferiour Egypt ; but confufed founds of an
evanefcent echo from the voice of the primitive afiatic world, lofing itfelf in
fiftion.
What then if we were to follow this voice ; and, as mankind had no means
of being formed but by tradition, endeavour to trace it to it*s original fource }
This, it muft be confeflTed, is a trcaclicröus path, as if a man were to purfue
the rainbow, or chace an echo : for as a child is incapable of giving an account
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270 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X
of his birth, though prcfcnt at it, as little may we hope, that the human fpccies
can tell us of it's creation and firft leffons, the invention of language, and it's
primitive feat, with the drift accuracy of authentic hiftory. Yet a child
Temembers at leaft fome circumftances of his later youth : and if feveral children,
who were educated together, and afterward feparated, relate the fame or very
fimilar things, why (hould we not give them credit ? why (hould we refufe at
leaft to refledt, on what they fay or dream has occurred, particularly if wc have
no other documents ? And as it has been the palpable defign of Providence
to inftruft man by means of man, that is by progreffively operating tradition ;
let us not doubt, that in this point we are favoured wiih every thing, that it
Is necefTary for us to knov^.
CHAPTER IV.
Aftaiic TraJiticnson the Creation of the Earth und the Origin of the human Speciei.
But in what part of this wild wafte, wlxere fo many deceitful voices call, and
fo many treacherous lights appear .to miflead us, fliall we begin ? I have no in-
clination, to add a fyllablc to the library of dreams on this fubjeft, which
human memory has committed to the prefs ; and (hall feparate, tlierefore, as far
as I am able, the conjectures of different nations, or the hypotliefes of their
philofophersi, from traditional fadts ; diftinguilhing in thefe their age, and degree
of certainty. The remoteft people of Afia, who boaft of the highcft antiquity,
the chinefe, have no authentic hiftory prior to the year 722 before our era.
The reigns of Fohi and Hoangti are mythological ; and what precedes Fohi,
the ages of fpirits, or of the elements perfonified, is confidered as allegorical
fiftion by the chinefe themfelves. Their moft ancient book *, which was
recovered, or rather reftored from two copies faved out of the general burning
of their books, in the year 176 before the birth of Chrift, contains neither
a cofmogony, nor the origin of the nation. In it we find Yao reigning with
the mountains of his empire, the grandees : he had but to iffue the command,
and ftars were obferved, aqueduÄs were conftrufted, divifions of time were
eftablirtied. Thus we have nothing left but the chinefe metaphyfics of the
great firft Y-f- j how four and eight arofe from one and two ; how, after the
• Lt ChoumKingj t^c, * The Shoo-King» one thofe in which the Shoo King fpeaks, by Pre-
of the fftcrcd Books of the Chinefe/ Paris, marc, prefixed to the edition of the Shoo-KJog
1770. byDcGttignes.
f Sec an An^oiry into the times anteriour to
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Chap. IV'.] Aßatic Traditions refpeEling the Creation. z*jr
opening of the heavens, Puanku and the three Hoangs reigned in miraculous
fhapes ; till fomething more rcfembling human hiftory begins with the firft
founder of their laws, Gin-Hoang, who was born on the mountain Hingma,
and divided the land and water into nine portions. And ftill this fort of my-
thology proceeds down through feveral generations ; fo that nothing can be
built upon it, except perhaps the feat on which tliey place thcfe kings and
their miraculous forms, the high mountains of Afia, which they deem facrcd,
and honour with all their moft ancient fables. A great mountain in the centre
of the earth is highly celebrated, even among the names of thefc fabulous
beings, whom they (lylc kings.
If we afcend to Tibet, we find the pofition of the earth round a lofty central
mountain ftill more perfpicuous; for the whole mythology of this eccleilaflical
empire is founded on it. It's height and circumference are ticmcndoufly
depifted : monfters and gia^its arc it's guards : fcven feas, and feven mountains
of gold, furround it. The lahs dwell on it's fummit, and other beings on
various inferiour ftages. Thofe contemplators of Heaven had been finking
for SBons of mundane ages into grofler bodies, till they arrived at the human
form, in which a frightful pair of apes were their progenitors. The origin of
beafts likewife is deduced from degraded lahs**. A harfli mythology, which
frames the world defcending into the fea, peoples it with monfters, and ulti-
mately throws the whole fyftem of beings into the throat of a demon, eternal
iieceffity. This degrading tradition, however, which deduces man from apes»
is fo interwoven with later fancies, that much is requifite, to make it pafs for
a pure original dodtrinc of the primitive world.
If we could procure the oldeft traditions of the ancient people the hindoos,
they would form a valuable treafure. But, befide that the firft feft of Brahma
has been long extinguiftied by the followers of Viflinoo and Sheva, we pofTefs,
in what has hitherto been brought to Europe of their myfteries, evidently
modern fables alone, being only a popular mythology, or an explanatory fyftem
of the philofophcrs. Thefe two divaricate after the manner of fables according
to the different provinces, fo that we have probably long to wait for the true
Vedas of the hindoos, as well as for the proper fanlcrit language j and even in
them we can expedl little of their moft ancient traditions, as they themfelves
deem the firft part loft. Yet a few grains of primitive hiftoric gold glitter
through many of thefe later fables. The Ganges, for inftance, is facred
throughout all Hindoftan, and flows immediately from the holy mountains, the
* Georgii Alphabet. Tibeun. Rom. 1762» ft 181 and clfewiiere.
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272 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. IBook X-
feet of Brahma, the creator of the world. Viflinoo appeared in his eighth
nietamorphofis as Praflarama : the water ftill covered all the land, except ihc
mountain Gatee : lie entreated the god of the fea, to give him room, and to
withdraw the flood, as far as he could (hoot an arrow. The god promifed ;
Praflarama flbot j and the land dried as far as the arrow flew, which was to the
coaft of Malabar. This evidently infl:ru<äs us, as Sonnerat alfo remarked, that
the fea once reached to the mountain Gatee, and that tlie coaft of Malabar is
mow recent land. Other indian tales relate the origin of the earth from out
of the water in another manner. Viflmoo fwam on a leaf: the firft man
f])rung out of it as a flower. On the furface of the waves boated an egg,
which Brahma hatched, and it^s (hell formed the atmofphere and the heavens,
as it's contents did man and animals. Thefe tales, however, fhould be read in
the infantile ftyle of the hindoos themfelves ♦.
The doftrinc of Zoroafter + is evidently a philofophic fyftem, which, if it
were not intermingled witli the fables of other fefts, could fcarcely pafs for an
original tradition. Trace^of fuch a tradition, however, are difcernible in it.
The great mountain Atbordy appears again in the centre of the Earth, and
with it's neighbouring mountains fljetches round it. About it the Sun revolves :
from It the rivers flow, and feas and lands arc diflributed. The forms of
things exifted firft in protot^^pes, in germes : and, as in all the other mytho-
logies of higher Afia Uie primitive World abounds with monftcrs, this too has
the great bull Cayamort, from the carcafe of which iflTued all the creatures of
the Earth. On tlie top of this mountain, as on that of the lalis, is Paradife,
the feat of blefled fpirits and enlightened men, and the primary fourcc of
rivers, the water of life. For the reft, the Light, that divides, diflipates,
and overcomes darknefs, that fruftifies the earth, and animates all creatures,
is evidently the firft phyfical principle of the whole fire-worfliip of the parfecs ;
which fimple idea they have applied theologically, morally, and politically, in
a thoufand ways.
The farther weft we wander beneath the afiatic mountains, the (hortcr we
find the periods of time, and the tales of the primitive Worid. We perceive
in them all a later origin, and the qjplication of foreign traditions from higher
regions to lower lands. They become Icfs and lefs adapted to local circum-
ftances ^ but on this account the lyftem itfelf gains in fulnefs and clcarncfs ; as
only a few fragments of the ancient fable occafionally appear, and thefe few are
clad in a more modern national garb. I am aftonifhed, therefore, how Sandio-
fiiathon has been reprcfented on the one hand as a complete impoftor» and on
* See Sonnertt» Baldeus, Dod, HoIwelI> &c. f Zend Aveila.
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Chap. IV.] Jßatic Traditions refpeEling the Creation. 273
the other as the firft prophet of the primitive world, to which be could not
have belonged from the phyfical fituation of his country. That the beginning
of all things was an air void of light, a dark and troubled chaos \ and that this
chaos, without limits and without form, floated in the void fpace from infinite
time, till the moving fpirit fell in love with it's own principles, and a beginning
of the creation arofe from their conjunftion ; belong to a mythology fo ancient,
and fo common to the moft different nations, that the phenician had here little
to invent. Almoft every people of Afia, with the egyptians and greeks, related
the tradition of chaos, or of a fecundated egg, in a fimilar manner : why therefore
fliould not written traditions of this kind be found in a phenician temple ?
That the firft feeds of creatures lay enveloped in mud j and the firft rational
creatures were a kind of wonderful beings, mirrors of Heaven (zophafemim)y
who, roufed by the found of thunder, awoke, and produced the various animals
out of their miraculous forms j are likewife extenfively prevailing tales, here only
abridged, which fpread in different garbs over the mountains of Media and
Tibet to Hindoflan and China, and defccnded likewife to Phrygia and Thrace,
for remains of them are to be found in the mythologies of Orpheus and Hefiod.
Now when we read long gencalc^ies of the wind Colpias, that is, the voice of
the breath of God, and his wife Night, their children Firft-born and -^on,
their grand-children Genus and Species, their great-grandchildren Light, Fire,
and Flame, their great-great-grandchildren the mountains Caffius, Libanus,
Antilibanus, &c., and find human inventions afcribed to thefe allegorical
names ; a very indulgent prejudice is requifite, to difcover a philofophy of the
World, and a primitive hiftory of man, in this mifconceived confufion of ancient
traditions, which the compofer probably found before him as proper names, and
out of which he formed perfons.
We will not take the trouble to fearch farther down into Egypt for traditions
of the primitive World. In the names of it's ancient deities are unqueftionable
remains of a fifter tradition to that of the phenicians j for ancient Night, the
Spirit, the Creator of the World, the Mud wherein lay the feeds of things,
here again occur. But as all we know of the moft ancient mythology of
Egypt is recent, doubtful, and obfcure ; and, befides, every mythological image
in this country is altogether moulded to the climate ; it would not anfwer our
purpofe, to grope among thefe idol forms, or farther on among the negro fables,
for traditions of the primitive World, on which to build a philofophy of the
moft ajicient hiftory of man.
We have nothing hiftorical, that remains, therefore, but the written tradi-
tion, which we commonly call the mofaic. Laying afide all prejudice, and
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274 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
without entering into the queftion of it's origin, wc know, that this is above
three thoufand years old, and the moll ancient book we poflefs. A bare in-
fpeftion of it's (hort and fimple pages will acquaint us with their defign and
value, confidering them not as hiftory, but as tradition, or an ancient phihfrpiy
of the hißory of man, which I will therefore ftrip of it's oriental poetic orna*
ments.
CHAPTER V.
T/ie mofi ancient writteti Tradition concerning the Origin of the Hißory of Man.
When the creation of our Earth and our Heaven began, fays this narration^
the Earth was a void fliapelefs mafs, on which a dark Tea flowed, and a living
fecundifying power moved on this water. Now if» the mofl ancient flatc
of the Earth were to be deduced from all our late obfervations, as they offer
themfelves to the inquiring mind, without having recourfe to gratuitous hypo-
thefes, we fhould have precifely this old defcription. A vaft rock of granite,
for the mofl part covered with wateF, and on it natural powers big with life,
are the circumflances wc know : more we know not. That this rock was
ejeäed Rowing from the Sun, is a gigantic idea, but founded neither on the
analogy of Nature, nor on the progreffivc developement of our Earth : for how
came water on this glowing mafs ? whence acquired it a round form ? whence
it's revolution, and it's poles ? fince the power of a m^nct is deflroyed by fire.
It is much more probable, that this wonderful primitive rock formed itfclf by
it's intrinfic powers , in other words, that it was depofited by condenfatioa
from the pregnant Chaos, from which our Earth was to be produced. All,
that this philofophic fi-agmcnt has in common with the fables we have noticed,
perhaps is confined to the elohim, which may be compared poffiHy with the
lahs, the zophafemim, &c., but here exalted to the idea of an operating One^
not of creatures, but of a creator.
The creation of things began with light : this feparated the ancient night,
this divided the elements. — And what other feparating and animating principle
in nature do we know from ancient or modern experience befide light, or, if
you will, elementary fire i It is univerfally diffufed throughout nature, though
unequally diflributed according to the affinities of bodies. In conflant motion
and adivity, fluid and afbive of itfelf, it is the caufe of all fluidity, warmth,
and motion. Even the eleftric principle feems only a modification of it : and
as all life throughout nature is unfolded folely by warmth, and difplays itfelf
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CiiAF. v.] Mqfl antient written Tradition of the Origin of Man. 275
by the motion of fluids ; as not only the feed of animals operates in a manner
fimilar to light, by an extenfile, ftimulating, animating power, but light and
cFeftricity have been remarked in the feminification of plants : fo in this ancient
philofophic cofmogony light alone appears as the firft operator. And, indeed,
not light proceeding from the Sun ; but a light fpringing from the interiour
of the organic mafs ; which is equally confonant to experience. It is not
from the beams of the Sun, that all creatures derive life and nourifliment : every
thing is pregnant with internal warmth j even the rock, and the cold iron, have
it within them ; nay it is only in proportion to the quantity of this genetic fire it
contains, and it*s more fubtle efficiency through the powerful circulation of internal
motion, that a creature poflcfles life, perception, and adkivity. Thus here was
fanned the firft elementary flame ; not a volcanic eruption, not a pile of burning
fubftances, but the feparating power, the warm, chcrifliing balfam of nature,
which gradually fet all things in motion. How much more grofs and far from
the truth are the expreflions of the phenician tradition, which awakens the
powers of nature as a fleeping animal by thunder and lightning I In this more
refined fyftem, which will certainly be ftill fiirther confirmed from time to time
by experience, light is the agent of creation.
To remove the falfe notion of days from the following expofition, let me here
obferve, what is obvious to every one on a bare infpeftion *, that the whole
fyftem of this rcprefentation of a fclf-accomplifliing creation refts on a com-
parifon, by means of which the feparations do not take place phyfically, but
fymbolically. As our eye, for inftance, is incapable of comprehending at one
view the whole creation, and it's complicated operations, it was necefiary to
form claflcs ; and it was moft natural, to diftinguifli in the firft place the
Heavens from the Earth, and in the next the fea from the land ; though they
ftill remain in nature one connefted realm of aftive and paffive beings. Thus
this ancient document is the firft fimple table of a natural ordery in which the
term days, while it is fubfervient to another purpofe of the author, is em-
ployed only as a nominal fcale for the divifion. As foon as light exifted as the
agent of creation, it muft operate at one and the fame time both on the Heaven,
and on the Earth. There it purified the air ; which, as a thinner water, and
according to innumerable modem experiments the all-connedting vehicle of
creation, aiding both light and the powers of terreftrial and aquatic beings in
a thoufand combinations, could be purified, or brought to it's elaftic fluidity,
by no other principle of nature, with which we are acquainted, than light, or
* Atltift4 Vrkutuk dts Mir[f(btngi/(bUcbts, * The moft ancient Docnmenti of the Human Race«
VoLL
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Ä76 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
elementary fire. But how could this purification be effcfted, unlcft by the
depofition of all groiTer matters in various precipitations and revolutions,
whereby water and earth, as well as water and air, gradually became difHnft
regions ? Thus the fccond and third operations contributed to the mutual ac-
complifliment of each other, as they are placed together in the fymbol of cof-
mogony, produdions of the firft principle, the feparating light of the creation«
Thefe operations continued without doubt for ibme thoufands of years, as
the formation of mountains and ftrata, and the excavation of valleys to the
beds of rivers^ inconteftibly fliow. Three powerful agents aded in this grand
period, water, air, and fire : thofe depofiting, abrading, precipitating ; this orga-
nically operating in them both, and in the felf-forming earth, wherever it could
fo operate.
We come next to another grand view of this primitive naturalift, to
which the comprehenfion of very few in our own times is equal. The in-
ternal hiftory of the Earth (hows, that in it*s formation the organic powers
of nature were every where aftive at the fame time, and that wherever any one
could exert itfelf, there it was exerted.' The earth vegetated as foon as it was
capable of vegetation, though whole realms of plants were thus deftroyed by
fubfequent depofitions from air and water. The fea fwarmed with living beings,,
as foon as it was fufficiently purified for this ; though in confequence of over-
flowings of the fea millions of thefe found their graves, and thereby afforded
materials for other organizations. Yet in each period of thefe purifying
operations every creature of every element could not live : the different kinds
of creatures followed each other, as their nature and their element would
permit. And behold our natural philofopher includes all this m one word of
the creator, which, as it called forth the light,, and thereby commanded the
air to purify itfelf, the fea to fink, and the land gradually to arife» that is, fet
in motion the fimple aftive powers of nature, commanded the earthy the watert^
the dußy to bring forth organic beingSy each after it's kinJ^ and the creation thus to
animate itfelf by it's own organic powers implanted in thefe elements. Thus fpoke
the fage, and dreaded not the infpedion of nature, which we (lill perceive»
wherever organic powers exalt themfelves into life according to their elements.
Only be places the kingdoms of nature, which mufl be divided, feparate from
each other, as the naturalifl feparates them ; though he well knew, that they
afted not diflinft from each other. Vegetation precedes : and as modern
phyfics havefhowD how much plants in particular are nourifhed by light, a few
Tocks pulverized by the weather, a little mud wafned together, aided by the
powerful warmth of the brooding creation» fufSced to render vegetation pof-
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Chap. V.] Moß ancient written Tradition of the Origin of Man* a; 7
fible. The prolific bofom of the fca followed with it's produftions, and
promoted farther vegetation. The earth, impregnated by thefe fpoils, and
by light, air, and water, delayed not, but proceeded to bring forth ; though
not all fpecics at once; for as carnivorous beads cannot live without ani-
mal food, their origin prefumes the deftrudion of prior animals, which the
natural hiftory of the earth confirms. Marine or graminivorous animals arc
what we find in the inferiour ftrata of the earth, as depofits of the firft ages;
carnivorous animals never, or very rarely. Thus the creation lias grown up in
an afcending fcale of dill more exquifite organizations, till at length man came
into exiftence, the moft elaborate performance of elohim, the crown that com-
pleted creation.
But before we approach this crown, let us confider a few more mafter
ftrokes, which animate the pifture of the ancient fage. Firß. He does
not introduce the Sun and ftars as stents in his operative circle of creation.
He makes them the central point of his fymbol: for they maintain in
motion our Earth and all it's organic productions, and are thus, as he (ays|
the rulers of time^ but they do not impart the organic powers themfelves, and
tranfmit them to the Earth. The Sun dill (hines, as it (hone in the beginning
of creation i but it awakens and organizes no new fpecies of beings : and even
in putre&ftion heat would not devclope the minuted living creature, if the
power, that creates it, were not already there, prepared for the change. The
Sun and dars therefore enter into this pifture of nature as foon as they can,
namely, as foon as the air is purified, and the Earth condruded : but only as
witneffes of the creation, only as rulers of a fphere organic in itfelf.
Secondly. The Moon appears from the beginning of the Worid : to my mind
a powerful tedimony for this ancient pidure of nature. The opinion of thofc,
who deem it a younger neighbour of the Earth, and afcribe ail the diforders in
and upon the Globe to it's arrival, is to me for from convincing. It is deditute
of all phyfical proof, fince every apparent diforder of our planet is not only ex-
plicable without this hypothefis, but, from this better explanation, ceafes to be
diforder. For it is evident, that our Earth, with the elements contained in it's
(hell, could not be formed otherwife than by revolutions; and fcarcely by
thefe, except in the neighbourhood of the Moon. The Moon gravitates to the
Earth, as the Earth does to it and the Sun : not only the movement of the fea,
but vegetation alfo, at lead as far as we are acquainted with the mechanifin of
the celedial and terredrial powers, are conneded with it's revolution.
Thirdly. With equal truth and acutenefs this natural philofopher places
the creatures of air and water in one clafs ; and comparative anatomy has diown
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«7« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
a wonderful fimilitude in their internal ftruaurc, particularly in the brain» the
proper index of the oi^anization of animals. The difference of figure b gene-
rally adapted to the medium, for which an animal is formed : accordingly, in
thefe two clafTes of aerial and aquatic animals the internal ftrudure mud bear
the fame analogy» as exifts between air and water. Upon the whole, this
hiftory of the complete living circle of creation tends to (how, that, as each
element produced what it was capable of producing, and all the elements be-
long to one whole, properly fpeaking only one organic formation could appear on
ourp/anett which commences in the loweft of living beings, and is completed in
the lafl and noblefl: work of the elohim.
With joy and wonder therefore I approach the rich defcription of the creation
of man: for it is the fubjeft of my book, and happily it's feaJ. Tie elokim
took counfel together ^ and impreiTed the image of this counfel on the future man :
underftanding and refleftion therefore are his diftinguifliing charaders. They
formed him in their own image^ which all the orientals place chiefly in the ereft
pofition of the body. On him was fiamped the charaSler of dominion over the
Earth : to the human fpecies therefore was given the organic excellence of be-
ing able to occupy it in every part, and, as the moft fruitful among all the
nobler animals, of living in all climates as the vicegerent of the elohim, as vifible
Providence, as afting God. Behold the mofl ancient philofophy of the hiflory
of man.
And now, when the circle of being was completed to the lail ruling fpring,
elohim reßedy and created nothing more : he is as invifible on the theatre of crea-
tion, as if every thing had produced itfelf, and thus had been eternal in necef-
fary generations. The latter, however, cannot be : for the flrufture of the
Earth, and the organizations of creatures founded on each other, fuflScicntly
prove, that every thing on Earth had a beginning as a work of art, and was im-
proved firom lower to higher. But how was the firft produced ? Why did the
work of creation cloie, and earth and fea no longer fwarm with new kinds of
living creatures, fo that the creative power appears to reft, and afts only through
the organs of eftabliflied orders and fpecies ? Of thefe points our natural philo-
fopher gives us a phyfical explication in the agent, which he makes the main
Ipring of the whole creation. If it were light, or elementary fire, which
divided the mafs, raifed the heavens, rendered the air elaftic, and prepared the
earth for vegetation ; it formed the feeds of things, and organized itfelf fix)m
the lowefl to the moft exquifite life : thus the creation was completed, fihcc,
according to the word of the eternal, that is according to his ordaining wifdom,
thefe vital powers were difirituted, and had ajjumed all forms y that could andßould
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Chap. V.] Moß ancuht written tradition of the Origbt of Man. 279
be maintaineJ on our planet. That motive warmth, with which the brcxxiing fpi-
rit hovered over the waters of the creation, and which had already difplayed
itfelf in the earlier fubterranean forms, and that with a copioufnefs and energy,
with which neither land nor fea is now capable of producing any thing j that
primitive warmth of the creation, without which it was impoffible for any thing
then to be organized, as it is now for aught to afiiime organization without ge-
netic warmth ; diftributed itfelf among all the produAions that aftually were,
and is dill the prime fpring of their being* What an infinite quantity of
grofs fire, for inftance, did the rocky mafs of our Earth abforb, which ftill
lies dormant» or a£ts in it, as volcanoes, inflammable minerals, and every little
ncbble that is ftruck, demonftrate ! That inflammable matter pervades all vege-
tation, and that animal life is wholly occupied on the elaboration of this phlo*
gifton, a number of modern fadts and experiments (how ; fo that the whole liv-
ing circle of creation appears to confift in this, that fluids become folid, and
folids fluid i that fire is evolved, and recombined ; that living powers are en-
chained by organizatios, and again fet at liberty. Now fince the mafs deftined
for the formiation of our £artli had it's number, weight, and meafure, the inter-
nal fpring operating in it neceflarily had it's limits. The whole creation now lives
in mutual dependance : the wheel of created beings revolves without addition!:
it deflroys, and conftrufts, within the genetic limits, in which it was placed by
the firft creative period. Perfefted by the power of the creator, nature is be-
come an art y and the energies of the elements are circumfcribed by a circle <^
determinate organizations, firom which they cannot deviate, as the plaftic fpirit
has incorporated in it every thing of which it was fufceptible. But, that fuch
a fabric cannot eternally fubfift, that the courfe, which had a beginning, muft
neceflarily have an end, arifes from the nature of things. The beautiful crea-
tion, as it produced itfelf bom a chaos, is working itfelf to a chaos again : it's
forms wear out : every organization refines itfelf, and grows old. Even the
grand organifm of the Earth muft find it's grave, whence, in due time, it will
urife in a new form.
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2i9 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
C H A P T £ R VI.
Contimation of the moß ancient written Tradition eoncermng the Commencement of
the Hißory of Man.
If my reader be pleafed with the Cmple notions of this ancient traditioa, which
I have prefented without embellifhment, and free from all hypothefis, let us pur-
fue it &rther, after calling a (ingle look at this piAure of creation as a whole.
How does it fo Angularly difUnguifli itielf above all the fables and traditions
of upper Alia ? By connexion, fimplicity, and truth. However numerous the
feeds of hiAory and natural philofophy thefe contain, they all lie in wild confu-
fion, neceflarily arifing from the tranfmifTal of unwritten or figurative popular
and facerdotal traditions, a fabulous chaos as at the b^inning of creation.
Our philofopher has unravelled this chaos, and exhibited to us a flrufture,
which in fimplicity and connexion imitates the order of Nature herfelf. But
whence acquired it this order and fimplicity ? We need only compare it with
the fables of other nations, and we (hall perceive the grounds of it's purer phi*
lofophy to be the hiftory of the Earth and of man.
Firß. Every thing incomprehenfible to man, and lying out of his fphere of
vifion, it excludes ; and confines itfelf to what we can fee with our eyes, and
comprehend with our mmds. What queftion, for inflance, has given birth to
more controverfy, than thofe concerning the age of the World, and the dura-
tion of our Earth and the human fpecies ? Men have deemed the afiatic nations,
with their infinite computations of time, infinitely wi(e j and the tradition of
which we are fpeaking infinitely childi(h, becaufe, contrary to all reafon as they
fay, nay contrary to the obvious teftimony of the (brufture of the Globe, it
hurries over the creation as a matter of fmall importance, and makes the hu-
man fpecies fo young. In my opinion this is palpable injuftice. Had Mofes
been nothing more than the coUedor of the(e ancient traditions, he, a learned
egyptian, coul^ not have been ignorant of thofe seons of gods and femigods»
with which the ^ptians, as well as all the nations of Afia« began the hiftory of
the World. Why therefore did he not interweave them into his account }
Why, as if in contempt and de(pite of them, did he fymbolically comprefs the
origin of the World into the fmalleft portion of time ? Evidently becaufe he
was defirous of obliterating them from men's minds as ufelefs fables. In
this he appears to me to have aAed wifely : for previous to the completion of
our Earth, that is before the origin of the human fpecies and it's conneAed
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Chap. VI.] Moß ancient written tradition of the Origin of Man, Jt8 1
Iriftoiy, there could be for us no chronology defcrving the name. Let Buifon
aflign numbers as great as be pleafes to the firft fix epochs of nature, of
twenty fix, thirty five, fifteen, ten thoufand years ; human intelleft, feeling
it's limits, laughs at tfaefe numbers of the imagination, fliould it even admit
tlie truth of the developement of the epochs themfelves ; and dill lefs does
♦he hiftorian wifli to burden his memory with them. Now the primitive
immenfe chronologies of different nations are evidently of the fame kind as
tiiefe of BuiTon ; for they run into thofe ages, in which the powers of the gods
and of the World bore fway j confequenlly into the time of the Earth's forma-
tion, fuch as thofe nations, who were extremely fond of infinite numbers,
framed from revolutions of the heavens, or from half-underftood fymbols of the
moil ancient figurative traditions. Thus among the egyptians Vulcan, the
cre;ltor of the World, reigned an infinite time ^ the Sun, his child and fucceflbr,
30000 ypars; «id then Saturn, and the other twelve gods, 3984, before the
demigods, and their later fucceflbrs, men. It is the fame with the traditions of
upper Afia concerning the creation, and the duration of time. According to the
parfees, the holy angels of light reigned three thoufand years without an enemy:
three thoufand followed, before the monftrous bull arofe, from whofe feed
different creature5firft Iprung; and laft of all Mefchia and Mefchiana^ man and
woman. The firft epoch of the tibetians, when the lahs reigned, is infinite ;
the fecond, 80000 years ; the third, 40000 j the fourth, 20000 j whence they
will dcfcend to a period of ten years, and then gradually afcend again to 80000.
The periods of the hindoos, abounding with metamorphofes of their gods, and
thofe of the chinefe, as abundant in metamorphofes of their mod ancient kings,
afcend ftill higher : infinitudes \^th which nothing could be done, except dif-
carding them, as Mofes did j fince, from the information of the traditions them-
felves, they belong to the creation of the Earth, not to the hiftory of man.
Secondly. If it be difpüted, whether the World be young or old j both the
difputants have right on their fide. The rock of our Earth is very ancient,
and it's covering has required long revolutions, of which there can be no doubt.
Here Mofes leaves every one at liberty to frame epochs as he pleafes, and,
with the Chaldeans, to let king Alorus^ or light, Uranus^ Heaven, Gea^ the
Earth, Helios^ the Sun, and fo on, reign as long as he thinks proper. He
xeckons no epochs of this kind ; and, to obviate them, has reprefented his
connefted fyftematic pifture in the readieft cycle of a terredrial revolution.
But the older thefe revolutions are, and the longer their duration, the younger
the human fpecies muß: neceffarily be, which, according to all traditions, and
to the nature of the thing itfelf, was the laft produdion of the finiflied Earth.
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a82 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor X.
I thank the philofopher, therefore, for this bold amputation of monftrous
ancient fables : for Nature as (he now is, and mankind as they at prefent exift,
are fufEcient to the circle of my comprehenfion.
With regard to the creation of man, too, the hiftory repeats ♦, that it took
place, as foon as it naturally could. * While there was neither plant nor tree
upon the Earth,' it proceeds, * man, deftined by Nature to cultivate it, could
not live : no rain yet defcended, but mifts arofe, and from fuch an earth mois-
tened with dew he was formed, and, animated with the breath of life, became
A living being.' To me this fimple narrative appears to fay all, that man is
capable of knowing of his organization, after every phyfiological inquiry, that
has been made. In death our artificial frame diffolves into earth, water, and air,
now organically united in it : but the internal economy of animal life depends
on the invifible ftimulus or balfam contained in the element of air, which fets in
motion the more perfedt circulation of the blood, nay the whole of the internal
contefl between the vital powers of our machine : and thus man adlually became
a moving foul through the breath of life. Through it he acquires and exerts
the power of generating vital warmth, and of a<5ting as a felf-moving, fentient,
thinking l^ing. In this the mofl: ancient philofophy is confident with the
moft modern experiments.
Thefirß abode of man was c^ garden : and this is fuch a feature of tradition as
philofophy alone could invent. For new-born man it was the eafieft way of
life, ünce every other, that of the hufbandman not excepted, requires art and
experience of various kinds. This trait alfo indicates, what the whole difpo-
Ction of our nature confirms, that man was not formed to live wild, but in
tranquillity : and thus, as the creator befl knew the deflination of his creatures,
man, like all the reft, was created as it were in his element, in the feat ofthat
kind of life, for which he was intended. Every degree of wildncfs in the human
race is a degeneracy, to which man has been impelled by neceflity, climate, or
the habitual fvvay of fome paflion : wherever this impulfe ceafes to adk, men live
more peaceably, as the hiftory of nations (hows. Man has been rendered wild
by the blood of animals alone ; by hunting, war, and, alas ! many other mif-
chiefs of human fociety. The moft ancient tradition of the earlieft nations of
the World knew nothing of thofe foreft monfters, who murderoufly roamed
about for thoufands of years as inhuman by Nature, and thus fulfilled their
original deftination. Thefe wild tales firft began in diflant ruder regions, after
the wide difperiion of mankind s later poets, willingly copied them, tbe(e the
♦ Geneiif, II, 5—7.
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Chap. VI.] Moß ancient written Tradition of the Origin of Man. 283
compiling hiftorian followed, and him the metaphyfician : but neither meta-
phyfics, nor the defcriptions of poets, give a trae original hiftory of man.
fVhere then lay the garden^ in which the creator placed his gentle^ drfencelefs
creature ? As this tradition is from the weft of Afia, it places it eaftwards»
* &rther up toward the rifing of the Sun, on a height from which flowed a
ftrcam, that.afterwards divided itfelf into four great rivers ♦.' No tradition can
dilplay lefs partiality : for while every ancient nation is defirous of reprefenting
itfelf as the firft, and it's land as the birthplace of mankind, this removes the
primitive country to a diftance, on the higheft ridge of the habitable earth.
And where is this height ? where do the four rivers, that are mentioned, arifc
from one ftrcam, as the original writing plainly fays ? No where in our geo-
graphy : and it is in vain to torture the names of the rivers in a thoufand ways,
for an impartial view of the map of the World informs us, that the Euphratet
and three other rivers flow from one fource, or ftream, nowhere upon ELarth.
But if we recoUedt the traditions of all the upper afiatics, we (hall find in them
all this Paradife on the loftieft land of the Globe, with it*s original living foun-
tain, with it's rivers fertilizing the World. Chinefe and tibetians, hindoos and
perlians, fpeak of this primitive mountain of the creation, round which lands,
feas, and iflands lie, and from the cloud capped fummit of which the Earth
has received the boon of it's rivers. This tradition is not void of phyfical prin-
ciples : without mountains our Earth could have no running waters, and the
map (hows, that all the rivers of Afia flow from thefe heights. Accordingly the
tradition we are explaining paiTes by every thing fabulous refpefting the rivers
of Paradife, and names four of the moft generally known, which flow from the
mountains of Afia. It is true, thefe proceed not from one ftream ; but to the
later colledfcor of thefe traditions it was fufHcient, to indicate a remote part of the
eaft as the primitive feat of mankind.
And there can be no doubt, that he confidcred this primitive feat as a region
between the Indian mountains. The land abounding with gold and precious
ftoncs, which he names, can fcarccly be any other than India, which has been
famed from all antiquity for thefe treafures. The river that compaflTeth it is
the facrcd winding Ganges +, which all India acknowledges as the river of Pa-
radife. That Gihon is the Oxus cannot be difputcd : the arabs ftill give it this
• Genefis II, 10—14. tion explains it the Ganges; while the arabt
f The word Pifon fignifiet a fertilizing, in- render it the Nile, and the country through
ondating ftream, and Teems a tranflation of the which it flows India, an incongruity hitherto
name Gang« : thus an ancient greek tranfla- deemed irreconcilable.
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a84 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoorX.
name, and traces of the country it was faid to water may be perceived in feveral
neighbouring indian appellations *. The laft two ftreams, the Tigris and Eu-
phrates, flow widely to the weft it is true ; but as the colledlor of thefe tradi-
tions lived at the vveftern extremity of Afia, thcfe regions were necefTarily loft to
him in the diftance, and it is poflible, that ^be third ftream which he mentions
fignifies a more eaftern Tigris, the Hindus -f : for it was the cuftom of all an-
cient nations, when they migrated, to appropriate the tales of the mountains
of the*J>rimitive World to the mountains and rivers of their new country, and
to naturalize them by a local mythology, as might be (hown from the moun-
tains of Media to Ida and Olympus. From his fituation, therefore, the col-
le<5bor of thcfe traditions could do no more, than indicate the remoteft region
they offered him. The indians of Paropamifus, the perfians of Imaus, the
iberians of Caucafus^ were comprifcd therein, and they were all in the habit
of placing their Paradife refpcftivcly in that part of the chain of mountains,
which their tradition indicatal. Our ftory, however, points properly to the
moft ancient of the traditions ; for it places it's Paradife above India, and gives
the reft as fupplcmentary. Now if we find fuch a delightful vale as Caflimire,
fituate nearly in the centre of thefe ftreams, walled round with mountains,
famed no lefs for it*s falubrious refrediing water, than for it's fertility and
freedom from wild beafts, and even now eftcemed, from the beauty of it's inha-
bitants, as the Paradife of Paradifes j may not this have been the primitive feat
of the human race ? The fequel, however, will fhow, that all refearches of this
kind on our prefent Earth are vain : accordingly, we ftiall mark_jhc region as
indeterminately as the tradition leaves it, and purfue the thread- of the
narrative.
Of all the miraculous things and romantic forms, with which the ftories of all
Afia have abundantly ftored their Paradife of the primitive World, this tradition
has only two marvellous trees, a fpeaking ferpent, and a cherub: the innumerable
multitude of others the philofopher has rejefted, and thefe too he has introduced
in a fignificant tale. In Paradife is one fingle forbidden tree ; and this tree, in the
perfuafion of the ferpent, bears the fruit of divine knowledge, for which man
longs. Could he long for any thing fuperiour ? Could he be more ennobled in
* Cafhgar, Caflimire, the Cafliian moan- hindoos are called, is the plural of dewin. It
tains, Caucafus, Cathay, &c. is probable, however, that the colledlor of the
f The third river is named Hiddekel ; and, traditions took it for the Tigris, as he places it
according to Otter, the Hindus is ftill called by to the eaft of Aflfyria. The remoter lands were
the arabs Eteck, and by the ancient hindoos too diiUnt from him. The Phraath too wu
Enider. The termination of the word alfo ap- probably fome other river, here tranflated «//«/-
pears indian ; dewerkeU as the femigods of the /ativt/j, or as the moft celebrated eaftern river.
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Chap. VI.] Moß ancient written Tradition of the Origin of Man, 285
hj^faH ? Compare this narrative, conlidered merely as jm allegory, with the
tales of other nations : it is of all the moft refined and beautiful, a fymbolical re-
prefcntation of what has ever been the *caufe of human happinefs and mifery.
Our ainbiguous ftriving after knowled^ not fuited to us, the irregular ule
and abufe of our liBerty, the reftlefs extenfion and infradtion of thoie limits,
within whicli it is necefTary moral laws Oiould confine a creature fo feeble, who
has to learn to govern himfelf, form the fiery wheel, under which we groan, and
which ftill conftitutes nearly the whole circle of our life. The ancient philo-
fopher of human hiftory knew this, as well as we know it ; and delivers it in a
popular tale, which embraces almoft all the purpofes of man. Thus the hindoos
tell of giants digging for the fruit of immortality ; the tibetians talk of their
lahs, degraded by mifdeeds : but nothing, in my opinion, equals tlie unfuUied
profundity, the infantile fimpjicity, of this talc j which has only fo much of the
marvellous, as ferves to indicate it's country and date. All the dragons and
wondrous forms of tlie ancient fairj'land ftretching over the afiatic mountains,
the fimurgh and foham, the lahs, dcwetas, gins, deeves, and peries, a mytho-
logy of this quarter of the Globe widely fpread in a thoufand tales of Ginniftan,
Righiel, Meru, Albordi, &c., dilappear in the mofl: ancient written tradition,
and only a cherub keeps watch at the gate of Paradife.
On the other hand, this inftruftive hiftory informs us, that the firft created
men converfed with the inftrufting elohim \ that, under their guidance, they
acquired language and fovereign realbn, through the knowledge of beafts ; that,
as man was dcfirous of refembling them in the knowledge of evil, acquired by a
forbidden mode, he obtained it to his own injury, and thenceforward, removed
into another place, began a new and more artificial way of life : plain traits of
tradition, which conceal beneath the veil of a fabulous narrative more human
truths, than voluminous fyftems of the ftate of nature of indigenous mortals. If,
as wc have fcen, the excellencies of man are born with him only as capacities,
but properly acquired and tranfmitted only by means of education, language,
tradition, and art ; the threads of this humanity formed in him muft not only
be derived to all nations and ends of the World from one origin, but they muft
have been artfully knit together from the beginning, if mankind were to be
what they are. Impoflible as it is for a child to be abandoned and left to him-
felf for years, without perifliing or becoming degenerate, as little could the hu-
man fpecies be left to itfelf in it's flrft germinating (hoot. Men, once accuf-
tomcd to live as ourang-outangs, would never of themfelves labour againft them-
felves, and learn to pafs from fpeechlefs inveterate brutality to manhood. Thus
if the deity willed» that man Ihould exercife reafon and forefight, he muft have
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286 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X.
conferred on him forcfight and reafoi Education, art, cultivation, were in-
difpenfable to him from the firft moment of his exiftence -, and thus the fpe-
cific charadber of mankind itfelf is a teftimony of the intrinüc truth of this
moft ancient philofophy of our hiftory **
CHAPTER VII.
Cottclußm of the moß ancient written Tradition concerning the Commencement of the
Hyiory of Man.
In every thing elfe, which this ancient talc relates, refpefting names, years,
the invention of arts, revolutions, &c., we find it the echo of national report.
We know not what the fiift man was called, or what language he fpoke : for
Adam fignifies a man of earth. Eve a living creature, in the Ismguage of the
people, who employ thefc names : thcfe appdlations therefore are fymbols of
their hiftory, and other ßgnifkant names are g^ven them by other nations.
The inventions here noticed ar« fuch only as fuit a paftoral and agricultural
people in the weft of Alia j and even of them, the tradition records nothing
but names. The enduring race, it fays, endured ; the pofleflbr pofleflcd j he
who was lamented was murdered : in fuch verbal hieroglyphics are drawn the
genealogical trees of people living in two different modes, of fliepherds, and of
hufbandmen or cKvellers in caves. The hiftory of the fethites and cainites is at
bottom nothing more than an account of the followers of the two moft ancient
modes of Jife, called in the arabic bedouins and cabiles-f, who ftill remain dif-
itino, and at enmity with each other, in the eaft. The genealogical tales of a
paftoral people of this country would note only thefe cafts.
It is the fame with regard to Noali's flood, as it is called. For, certain as it
;appears from natural hiftory, that the habitable earth has been ravaged by an
inundation, and Afia pArticularly bears incontcftible marks of fuch a deluge;
yet what is delivered to us in this narration is nothing more or lefs than a na-
tional ftory. The compiler has coUeäed together feveral traditions with great
* But how did the elohim confer cJiefe on of the caUIes are called cabeil. The bedouimw
nan ? that ii to fay, how did they teach, according to the iignification of their nameb
warn, and inftru6t him? If it be not equally as are wandering (hepherds, inbahitOMti •/ tU dt"
bold to aik this qaeftion, as to anfwer it, the firt. Thus it is with the names Cain, Enoch»
tradition iticlf will give ns a folation in another Ned, Jabal, Jubal, or Tobal-Cain, expreflive of
place. the tribes and wajr of life,
f Cain is called by the arabs Cabil; the tribei
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Chap. VIL] Moß anctent written Tradition of the Origin of Man. 287
care *, and delivers the journal of this tremendous revolution pofleffed by his
tribe: at the fame time the ftyle of the narrative is fo completely adapted tQ_
^h? niifiH<* nf thinlrmg^f fr|iij^tribe. that it would be highly injurious to it, to
extend it beyond thofe limits, which alone ftamp on it credibility. As one fa-
mily of this people, with a confiderable houfliold, efcaped, fo other families of
other nations may have been faved, as their traditions (how. Thus^in Chaldea
Xifuthrus efcaped with his faniily, aod a number of cattle, which were then ne-
ceflary to the fupport of men's lives, in a fimilar manner: and in India Vifhnu
himfelf .\^35. the ruddec-of the (hip, that conveyed the diftreffed people to land.
Similar tales exift among all the ancient nations in this quarter of the Globe,
adapted to the traditions and circumftances of each: and convincing as they
are, that the deluge of which they f^^eak was general throughout Afia, they help
us at once out of the ftrait, in which we unneceffarily confine ourfelves, when
we take every circumftance of a family-hiftory exclufively for a hiftory of the
World, and thus deprive the hiftory itfelf of it's wellfounded credibility.
The genealogical table of this race after the deluge proceeds in a fimilar man-
ner : it is confined within the limits of the country and it's topography, not
ftretching beyond them into Hindoftan, China, eaftern Tatary, &c.. The three
chief brandies of thofe who were faved are evidently the people on either fide the
weftcrn afiatic mountains, including the eaftern coaft of Europe, and the northern
of Africa, as far as they were known to the colleÄor of the traditions + . He
traces them as well as he can, and endeavours to connedt them with his ge-
nealogical table ; but does not give us a general map of the World, or a ge-
nealogy of all nations. The pains that have been taken, to make all the people
of the Earth, according to this genealogy, dcfccndants of the hebrews, and half-
brothers of the jews, are cf^ntradiftory not only to chronology and univerfal
hiftory, but to the true point of view of the narrative itfelf, the credibility of
which has been nearly deftroyed by it's being thus overftretched. On all the
primitive mountains of the World, nations, languages, and kingdoms, were
formed, after the deluge, without waiting for envoys from a chaldean family :
• Gcncfis VX— VIII. Sec Eichliom's Ein* chiefly remained, and who confequently ap-
Itiiung ins alte Teßamtnt, • Introdaflion to the propriated to th^mfelves the advantages of ci-
Old Teftament/ Vol. II, p- 370. vilixed nations over others, particujarly the
t Japhet is, both according to his name and hamites. Ham, or Cham, derived his name
his b\eBng,/ar fxtenM, as the people north of from heat, and belonged to the torrid zone. la
the moantains were in their mode of life, and the three fons of Noah, therefore, we find no-
partly even in their naines. Shem coinprifed thing more than the three quarters of the Giobe,.
tribes with whom the names, that is the ancient Europe, Afia, and Africa, as far as they lay
traditions of religion* writings and cultivation« within the fghere of this tradition.
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i88 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookX
and in tbe eaft of Afia, man's primitiTc and moil populous feat, we ftill evi-
dently find the mod ancient cuftoms and languages, of which this weftera race
of a later people knew nothing, and could not be otherwife than ignorant. It
would not be much lefs impertinent to inquire, whether the chinefe defcended
from Cain or Abel, that is from a tribe of troglodytes, hufbandmen, or (hep-
herds, than to what beam of Noah's ark the american bradypus hung : but on
this fubjed: I (hall not here enlarge ; and even the invefligation of points fo
important to our hiflory as the abridgment of the duration of man's life, and
the general deluge itfelf, I muft defer to another place. Suffice it, that the
fh-m central point of the largefl quarter of the Globe, the primitive mountains
of Alia, prepared the firft abode for the human race, and has maintained itfelf
through every revolution of the Earth. Not firft raifed naked from the bot-
tom of the fea by the deluge, but, as both natural hiftory and the moft an-
cient traditions teftify, the original country of man, it was the firft grand theatce
of nations, the inftrudive infpeftion of which we (hall now purfue.
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f a«9 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY-
BOOK XI.
THE moft ancient kingdoms and dates of the Earth have been formed,
as far as we learn from hiftory, fouthwards, at the feet of the great moun-
tains of Afia : the natural hiftory of this quarter of the Globe too prefents us
with reafons, why they could not fo eafily be formed to the north as to the
fouth. Needy man, feeking to fupport tiis earthly frame, readily bends his
Courfe to thofe regions, where the funbeams flied a more genial warmth : for
thefe muft cover the earth with vegetation for his ufe, and ripen it's wholefome
fruits. In the north of Afia, on this fide of the mountains, moft parts arc much
higher and colder : the chains of mountains wind with more intricacy, and fine-
quently feparate lands by their fnowy fummits, precipices, and waftes : fewer
ilreams water the ground, and thefe ultimately flow into the frozen ocean, the
barren coafts of which, the abodes of the white bear and reindeer, could not
early have attracted inhabitants. This high, broken, fteep land, the mountains
and precipices of our ancient world, muft have been for a confiderable period
the habitation of icythians and farmatians, mungals and tatars, half-favage
hunters and nomades ; and many parts of it will remain fo probably for ever.
Neceflity and the circumftances of the country rendered men barbarous : a
thoughtlefs way of life, once become habitual, confirmed itfelf in the wandering
tribes, or thofis that feparated from them ; and fafliioned amid rude manners
that almoft eternal national charadler, which fo completely difcriminates all the
northern afiatic races from thofe of the fouth. As this middle chain of moun-
tains is a permanent ark, a nurfery of almoft all the wild animals of our hemi-
fphere, it's inhabitants muft long remain the companions of thefe animals,
taming them with rude hand, or guarding them with gentle care.
To the fouthward, where the furface of Afia gently declines, where the moun-
tainous chains furround more temperate vales, and proteft them from the cold
northeaftern wind, migrating colonies, led chiefly by the rivers, gradually drew
toward the fea-coafts, aflcmbled in towns, and formed nations ; while a milder
climate awakened in them more refined ideas, and gave rife to lefs rude regu-
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290 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXL
lations. At the fame time, as Nature afTorded man more leifure, and pica-
furably ftimulatcd more of his propenfities, his lieart expanded in paffions and
irregularities, the flowery weeds of which could not burft through the ice of
the north, or fpring up under the preffure of neceffity : hence various laws and
inflitutions to check them were required. The mind imagined, and the heart
lufted : the unruly pafTions of men perpetually claflied with each other, and
were at length obliged, to fubmit to reftraint. But as defpotifm muft ac-
complifli what reafon is yet unable to perform, thofe ftruftures of policy and
religion, which prefent themfelves to us as pyramids and temples of the an-
cient world in eternal traditions, arofe in the fouth of Afia : valuable documents
for the hiftory of our fpecies, teaching us, in every fragment, how much the
cultivation of human reafon has cofl mankind.
CHAPTER I.
China.
I N the eaftem corner of Afia, at the feet of the mountains, lies a country,
which calls itfelf the oldeft of nations, the central flower of the world; and it
certainly is one of the moft ancient, and moft remarkable. This is China. Not
fo large as Europe, it boafts a greater number of inhabitants in proportion thaa
this populous quarter of the Globe j for it reckons within it's limits upwards
of 25200000 hufl^andmen paying taxes, 1572 towns great and fmall, 1193
caftles, 3158 ftone bridges, 2796 temples, 2606 monafteries, 10809 ancient
edifices, &c. * j all of which, with the mountains and rivers, foldiers and men
of letters, manufaftures and produce, are annually entered in long catalogues
by the eighteen governments, into which the kingdom is divided. Various
travellers agree, that, except Europe, and perhaps ancient Egypt, there is no
country where fo much indufliry has been employed on roads and rivers, bridges
and canals, and even artificial mountains and rocks, as in China ; all which,
• Lcontiew's extrafts of the geography of G. Staunton gives the population of China pro-
thc empire of China in Bucfching's Hiflor. und per, within the great wall, from apparently au-
gio^r, Magazin, Vol. XIV, p. 41 1, &c. In ihcnticdocument8,in round numbers, 33 30COOOO-
Hermann*s Beitrecgen %ur Phyßk, ' Eflays on It's area, from mcafuremcnt, he fcts down at
Natural Philofophy,* Vol. I, Berlin, 1786, the 1297999 fquarc miles. Sec Account of an
extent of the empire is cftimated at 11 0000 Embafly to China, Vol. II, Appendix, Table I.
gcrman miles fquare [about 1222222 fquarc His account of the population of this country,
miles englifli], and the population at 104069254, however, has been difputed by the gennan cri-
nine perfons being reckoned to a family« [Sir tics« T«]
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Chap. I.] Ckina, 291
with it's great wall, bear teftimony to the patient labour of human hands.
Ships proceed from Canton nearly up to Pekin ; and the whole empire, divided
as it is by mountains and deferts, has been laborioully united by means of roads,
canals, and rivere. Villages and towns float on the waters, and the internal
commerce between the provinces is briik and lively. Agriculture is the grand
pillar of the conftitution : we arc told of luxuriant fields of corn and rice, of
deferts watered by art, of barren mountains rendered fertile : every plant and
herb is cultivated and ufed, of which any ufc can be made : it is the fame with
metals and minerals, gold excepted, their mines of which they do not work.
Tlie land abounds with animals j the rivers, and lakes, with fifli : the filk-
worm alone fupports thoufands of induftrious perfons. People of all ranks
and every age, even the blind, the deaf, and the decrepit, find fome ipecies of
labour, fome kind of manufacture, to employ them. Gentlenefs and fub-
miflion, courteous civility and affable behaviour, are what the chinefe ftudy
from infancy, and pradtife through life. Regularity, and precifely determined
order, are the eflence of their legiflation and police. The whole fyftem of the
ftate, in all the relations and duties, between it's different claffes, is founded
on the refpeft, which the fon owes to his father, and every fubjeft to the father
of the nation, who protedts and governs them as children, by means of the ma-
giftrates. Can there be a nobler principle for the government of men ? There
we find no hereditary nobility ; merit alone ennobles in every rank : men of
approved worth fill the pofts of honour, and thefe pofts alone confer fupcrio-
rity. The fubjeft is forced to embrace no mode of worihip on compulfion, and
the followers of no religion are perfecutcd, unlefs their tenets be inimical to the
ftate. The adherents of Confucius, of Laotfee and Fo, and even jews and
jefuits, when received into the ftate, dwell together in peace. Their laws are
unalterably founded on morals ; their morals, on the facred book of experi-
ence : their emperor is their fovcreign pontif, the fon of Heaven, the proteftor
of ancient cuftom, the foul of the body politic pervading all it's members. If
thefe principles be carried into aftual praftice, and held inviolate, can we con-
ceive a political conftitution more perfeft ? The whole empire would form one
family of virtuous, welleducated, orderly, induftrious, happy children and
brothers.
Every one knows the advantageous pifture of the chincfe government,
fcnt to Europe by the miffionaries in particular, and there admired as a
mafterpiecc of policy, not only by fpeculative philofophers, but even by ftatef-
men ; till at length, as it is ufual for the tide of opinion to take oppofite
directions, incredulity arofe, and would admit neither it's high degree of civili-
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29* PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XI.
zation, nor even it's peculiarities. Some of.thcfe european objcdlions have
had the fortune to be anfwcrcd in China itfclf, though pretty much in the
chinefe tafie * : and as moft of the books that form the foundation of their
laws and manners, with an ample hiftoiy of the empire, and fome unquedion-
ably impartial accounts, are before us-}*; it would be ftrange if fome medium
between extravagant praife and immoderate blame could not be found, which
would probably be the path of truth. We will not difputc about the queftion
of the chronological antiquity of their empire; for as the origin of every king-
dom upon Earth is enveloped in obfcurity, it may be deemed a matter of indif-
ference by the inquirer into the hiftory of mankind, whether this lingular nation
demanded ten or twenty centuries more or lefs for it's formation : it is fufiicient,
if it formed itfclf, and we can perceive in it's flow progrefs the obftades, that
prevented it*s farther advance.
Now thefe obftacles are evident to our eyes in it's charafter, the place of it's
abode, and it's hiftory. That the nation is of mungal origin appears from the
figure of the chinefe, their grofs or infantile tafte, nay even their mechanical
ingenuity, and the feat of their firft cultivation. The earlieft kings ruled in
the north of China : here were laid the foundations of that femitatarian de-
fpotifm, which being afterwards gilded over with fplendid maxims, fpread itfclf
through various revolutions down to the coafts of the fea on the fouth. A
tatarian feudal conftitution was for ages the tie, that bound the vaflals to their
lords : and the many wars between thefe vaflals; the frequent fubverfion of the
throne by their hands ; nay the whole economy of the emperor's court, and his
ruling by mandarins ; which are ancient eftablifliments, not firft introduced by
Gengis khan or the mantchous j all fliow what kind of nation it is, and evince
it's genetic charader : a charadler, which equally meets the eye on contem-
plation o£ the whole, and infpedion of it's parts, even to drefs, food, cuftoms,
domeftic economy, arts, and amufemcnts. This northeaftern mungal nation
could no more change it's natural form by artificial regulations, even though
enduring for thoufands of years, than a man can change his nature, that is, the
• Memoins cencernant VHißotn l^e,, * Memoirs tranflations of fome original works of the chi-
ef the Hiftory, Sciences, Arts, Manners, Cuf- nefe are inferted, &c, afford materials enoagh,
toms, &,c. of the Chinefe', Vol. II, p. 365 and for giving jutl ideas of thefe people. Among
fol. the various miflionaries, who ha/e given ac-
+ Bcfide the ancient editions of fome claf- counts of them, feiher le Comtc is particularly
fical books of the chinefe by father Noel, Coup to be efteemed, for the foundncfs of his jodg-
plct, and others, the edition of the Shoo-King ment : Nouwaux Mitwirts fur rEtatfrefint A la
by Dcguignes, the Hi/oire general dt Chint by Chine, ' New Memoirs of the prefcni Stttc of
Mailla, the Memoirs quoted in the preceding China/ 3 vol», 8yo, Paris, 1697.
note, confining of ten volumes quarto, in whifik
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Chap. I.] Ciina^ 293
innate charadler of his race and complexion. It was planted on this fpot of
the Globe : and as the magnet has not the fame variation in China as in Europe,
fb this race of men, in this region, could never become greeks or romans.
Chinefe they were, and will remain : a people endowed by nature with fmall
c)'es, a fliort nofe, a flat forehead, little beard, large ears, and a protuberant
belly : what tlieir organization could produce, it has produced ; nothing elfc
could be required of it *.
All accounts agree, that the mungal nations on the north-eaftern heights of
Afia are diftinguiP.. d by an acutenefs of hearing, as eafily to be accounted for
among them, as it would be vain to feek it in other people. The language
of the chinefe bears teftimony to this delicacy of ear. The auditory organs of
a mungal alone could be capable of forming a language out of three hundred
and thirty fyllables, diftinguifhed in different words by five or more accents,
to prevent the fpeaker from faying bead inftead of lord, and falling into the
moft laughable confufion of words every moment ; fo that an european ear,
and european organs of fpecch, can with the utmofl. difficulty, if at all, ac-
cuftom thcmfelves to this forced fyllabical mufic. What a want of invention
in the great, and what miferable refinement in trifles, are difplayed in con-
triving for this language, the vafl: number of eighty thoufand compound cha-
racters from a few rude hieroglyphics, fix or more different modes of writing
which diftinguifli the chinefe from every other nation upon Earth. Their
piAures of monflers and dragons, their minute care in the drawing of figures
without regularity, the pleafure afforded their eyes by the diforderiy aflem*
Wages of their gardens, the naked greatnefs or minute nicety in their build-
ings, the vain pomp of their drefs, equipage, and amufements, their lantern
feafts and fire- works, their long, nails and cramped feet, their barbarous train
of attendants, bowings, ceremonies, diflinftions, and courtefies, require a mun-
gal organization. So little tafte for true nature, fo little feeling of internal
{atisfadion, beauty, and worth, prevail through all thefe, that a negleded mind
alone could arrive at this train of political cultivation, and allow itfclf to be fo
thoroughly modelled by it. As the chinefe are immoderately fond of gilt paper
andvamifli, the neatly painted -lines of their intricate charaders, and the jingle
of fine fentences j the call of their minds refembles this varnifh and gilt paper,
thefe charafters and clink of fyllables. Nature feems to have refufed them^
as well as many other nations in this corner of the World, great invention in
fcience : while on the other hand (he has bountifully conferred on their little
eyes a fpirit of application, adroit diligence and nicety, a talent of imitating
• See Book VI, chap. II| p. 158«
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£94 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXI.
with art whatever their cupidity deems ufeful. Eternally moving, eternally
occupied, they are for ever going and coming, in qucft of gain, or in fuliii-
ment of their offices, fo that they might be taken for wandering mungals,
notvvithftanding the artificial conftitution of their fcate : for with all their
innumerable regulations, they have not yet found the art of combining occu-
pation with reft, fo that every bufmefs (hall find every man in bis place. Their
art of phyfic, refembling their trade, confifts in a niee, deceitful feeling of tlic
pulfe, which depicts their whole charafter, in it's acutenefs of the organs
of fenfe, and uninventive ignorance of mind. The character of this people is
a remarkable point in hiftory, for it (hows what a mungal nation, unmixed with
any other, can or cannot be rendered by political cultivation earned to the higheft
pitch : for the vain pride of the chinefe fliows, if it fliow nothing elfe, that they
have kept themfelves, liko the jews, unmixed with other people. Let them
have acquired particular branches of knowledge where they will, the whole
ftrufture of their language and conftitution, their inftitutions and mode of
thinking, arc peculiarly their own. Juft as they are averfc to the grafting of
trees, fo they themfelves, notwithftanding their various intercourfe with other
nations, remain an original mungal ftock, in a comer of tliß earth degraded to
the flavifti modes of chinefe cultivation.
Man is artificially formed by education alone : the mode of education pur-
fued by the chinefe confpired with their national charafter, to render them
juft what they are, and nothing more. Filial obedience, after the manner of
the wandering mungals, being made the bafis of all their virtues, both civil and
domeftic ; that apparent modefty, that anticipating courtefy, which are cele-
brated as charafteriftic features of the chinefe even by the tongues of their
enemies, could not avoid growing up in time. But good as this principle may
be for a wandering horde, what would be it's confequences in an extenfive com-
munity ? In fuch a ftate filial obedience finding no limits ; the fame duty
being impofcd on men arrived at yean of maturity, having themfelves childrea
and manly occupations, as fuits only their uneducated offspring ; nay this duty
being required by every magiftrate, who fupports the name of father, in a figu-
rative fenfe alone, by force and neceffity, not by the gentle affeftions of nature :
what could, what muft enfuc, but that the endeavour, to form a new human
heart in defpite of nature, muft accuftom the real hearts of men to falf-
hood ? If the full grown man be compelled, to yield the obedience of a child ;
he muft give up all that freedom of aAion, which Nature has made the duty
of his years ; empty ceremony will ftep into the place of heartfelt truth ; and
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Chap. I.J CUna. 2p^
the foil, whofc conduft overflowed with childifli fubmiflion to his mother
during his father's life, will negleft her after his death, if the law but term her
a concubine. It is the fame with the filial dutiestoward the mandarins : they
fpring not from nature, but from authority : they are mere cuftoms, and, when
they clafh with nature, they are falfe, enfeebling cuftoms. Hence the dif-
agreement between the chinefe laws and morals, and the aftual hiftory of China.
How often have the children of the ftate depofed their father from the throne !
How often has the father treated his children with barbarity ! Covetous man-
darins have fufTered thoufands to flarve : and when their crimes have reached
the cars of the fovereign father, they have been ineflfeftually chaflifcd with
paltry flripes like children. Hence the want of manly force and honour, to
be obfer\'ed even in the portraits of their great men and heroes : honour is
converted into filial fubmiffion, force has degenerated into modifh punftuality
toward the ftate : we find in the harnefs no noble fteed, but a tame afs, fre-
quently playing the part of the fox in prefcribed cuftoms from morning till
night.
This childifli reftraint of the reafon, powers, and feelings of men muft necef-
farily have a debilitating influence on the whole frame of the ftate. When
once education is confined to modes, when forms and cuftoms not only bind
but overpower all the intercourfe of life, what a mafs of aftivity is loft to the
public ! and that aftivity the nobleft of the heart and mind. Who is not afto-
niflied, when he remarks in the hiftory of the chinefe the courfe and management
of their affairs, and with what extenfive apparatus a trifle is accompliflied ? Here
a college is employed, on what, to be well done, fliould be performed by an indi-
vidual : there inquiry is made, in what place an anfwer is to be found : they go
and they come, they put off and they avoid, that the ceremonials of childifli
rcfpeft for the flate may not be infringed. A nation, that fleeps on wami
floves, and drinks warm water from morning till night, muft be equally defti-
tutc of a warlike fpirit and profound refleftion. Regularity in a beaten track j
acutencfs in difcovering which way intereft inclines, and a thoufand fly arts ;
childifli multiplicity of occupation, without the refleftion of the man, who aflts
himfclf whether a thing be neceffary to be done, and whether it may not be
performed in a better manner ; are the only virtue^, to which the royal path
in Chioa is open. The emperor himfelf is harnefted to this yoke : he muft fet
a good example to all, and go through his exercife like a drill corporal for a
pattern to the reft. He not only facrifices in the hall of his predeceffors on fefti-
vals, but in every occupation, in every moment of his life, he facrifices to them.
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t9« THILOSOPHT OF HISTORY. [Boor Xt
and all tlie praife aiid all the blame beftowed upon him are perhaps equally un«
deferved *.
Is it to be wondered, that a nation of this kind Ihould have invented little
in the fciences according to the european ftandard ? or that it has remained for
Ibme thoufands of years at the fame point ? Even their books of law and morality
continually pace round the fame circle, and carefully and precifely fay the fame
things of childifli duties, in a hundred different ways, with fyftematic hypocrify.
In it mufic and aftronomy, poetry and taäics, painting and architedlure, aic
as they were centuries ago, the children of it*s eternal laws, and unalterably
childifh inftitutions. The empire is an embalmed mummy, wrapped in filk,
and painted witli hieroglyphics : it's internal circulation is that of a dormoufc
in it's winter's fleep. Hence the fyftem of keeping foreigners feparate, adting
the fpy over them, and throwing obftacles in their way : hence the pride of
the nation, which compares itfelf with itfelf alone, and neither knows nor
loves ftrangers. It is a nation thruft into a corner, and (liut up from general
concourfe by Fate ; being feparatcd from the reft by mountains, deferts, and
a fea, in which fcarce a haven is to be found. In any other fituation it
could not eafily have remained what it is : for that it's conftitution held out
againft the mantchous only proves, that it derived it's foundation from
them, and tliat the lefs civilized conquerors found fuch a fyftem of childifh fla«
very a very convenient feat for their dominion. They dürft not alter it, but
fat themfelvcs down in it, and ruled : while the nation ferved fo obfequioufly
in every member of this machine of ftate, which itfelf had eredted, as if it bad
been invented for the very purpofc of this flaverj'.
All accounts of the language of the chinefe agree, that it has contributed
unfpeakably to the form of this people in their artificial mode of thinking : for
is not the language of every country the medium, in which the ideas of it's
inhabitants arc formed^ prefcrvcd, and imparted ? particularly when a nation is
lb firmly attaclicd to it's language as this, and deduces all civilization from it.
The language of the chinefe is a diftionary of morals, that is, of courtefy aad
good manners : not only provinces and towns, but even conditions and books
are diftinguiflied in it, fo that tlie greater part of their learned induftr)' is ap-
plied merely to an Implement, with which nothing is performed. Every tiling
in it turns on fyftematic niceties ; it exprcffes much with a few founds, while
• Even the eftccmed emperor Kien-Long conftitution, tJu« rauft ever be the caf«, let dt«
nrai deemed t cruel tyrant in the provincci: emperor's way of thinking be wbftt it will,
and in fuch an extenfive kingdom, with fuch a
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Chap. I.] China. 297
it depifts one found with many lines, and fays one and the fame thing in a multi-
plicity of books. What a wafte of induftry is employed in pencilling and print-
ing their works ! but this is their chief art and delight ; for fine writing is to
them more beautiful than the moft enchanting pidure, and the uniform jingle
of their maxims and compliments is prized by them as the fum of elegance
and wifdom. Nothing but fuch an extenfive empire, and chinefe laborioufnefe,
could have produced forty books, painted in eight large volumes, on the fingle
town of Kai-fong-fu *, and extended this tirefome accuracy to every command
and eulogy of the emperor. The monument of the emigration of the torguts
is a monftrous book upon ftone -f , and the whole of the learning of the chineft
is exhaufted in artificial and political hieroglyphics. The difference, with which
this mode of writing alone operates upon the mind that thinks in it, muft be
incredible. It enervates the thoughts, and reduces the whole national way of
thinking to painted or air-drawn arbitrary charafbers.
This exhibition of the peculiarities of the chinefe has not been coloured by
enmity or contempt : every line is taken firom their warmeft advocates, and
might be fupported by a hundred proofs from every clafs of their inftitutions.
It is nothing more, than arifes from the nature of the cafe ; the reprefentation
of a people formed from remote antiquity with fuch an organization, in fuch a
part of the World, after fuch principles, with fuch aids, and under fuch cir-
cumftances ; and which, contrary to the ufual courfe of things in other na-
tions, has fo long retained it's way of thinking.. If the ancient egyptians were
flill before our eyes, we (hould obferve, without venturing to think of a recipro-
cal derivation, a refemblance between them in many points ; the traditions
received being only modified fomewhat differently by the climate. It was the
fame with other nations, that once ftood on the fame ftep of cultivation ; but
thefe have advanced farther, or have been deftroyed and mingled with others ;
while ancient China ftands as an old ruin on the verge of the World, in it's
femi-mungalian form. It would be difficult to prove, that the fundamental
lineaments of it's cultivation were brought from Greece through Baära, or
derived from Tatary through Balch: the web of it's conftitution is certainly
cndemial, and the flight operations of foreign countries on it are eafy to be dif-
tinguiihed and feparated. I honour the Kings like a chinefe for their excel-
lent principles : and Confucius is to me a great man, though I pefceive the
fetters, which he too wore, and which, with the beft intentions, he ri vetted
eternally on the fuperftitlous populace, and the general fyftcm of flate, by his
• Mem^ coHCtrnatt Its Chincis, Vol. II, p. 375. f Il>» Vol. I, p. 329.
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298 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XL
political morality. By means of it this nation, like many others on the Globe,
has flood ftill in it's education» as in the ^e of infancy ; this mechanical en-
gine of morals for ever checking the progrefs of the mind, and no fecond Con-
fucius arifing in the despotic realm. Had either the enormous ftate been once
divided ; or had more enlightened Ki^n-longs taken the paternal refolution, to fend
forth as colonifts thofe whom they could not feed, lightened the yoke of cuftom,
and introduced greater freedom of will and aäion, though this would un-
doubtedly have been attended with much danger: then — but even then the
chinefe would ever have remained chinefe, as germans are ftill gcrmans, and no
ancient greeks are produced in the eaftern end of Afia. It is obvioufly the
purpofe of Nature, that every thing capable of profpering on Earth (hould
profper on it, and that even this variety in her produftions fliould teem witli
the creator's praife. The work of legillation and morals poffeffcs no where
upon Earth fuch {lability as in China> where the human underftanding appears
to have framed it as an infantile effay : there let it remain, and may Europe
never rear a fifter realm equally full of filial fubmifTion to it's defpots. This
nation will retain to the end the fame of it's induftry, of the acutenefs
of it's organs of fenfe, of it's fkilful dexterity in a thoufand ufefiil things.
Silk and porcelain, powder and (hot, perhaps too the mariner's compafs, the
art of printing, the building of bridges, navigation, and many other nice
mechanical occupations and arts, were known to it, before they exifled in
Europe : but in almoft all arts it wants the fpirit of improvement. For the
refl, that China (hould (hut herfelf up from the nations of Europe, and lay
great redraints as well on the dutch as on the ruffians and jefuits, is not only
confiftent with her general way of thinking, but cannot be blamed on the fcorc
of policy, fo long as (he obferves the condudl of europeans in the iflands and
on the continent of the Eafl-Indies, in the North of Afia, and in her own land.
Swelling with tatarian pride, (he delpifes the merchant, who leaves his ovva
country, and barters what (he deems the moft folid merchandize for things of
trifling value : (he takes his (ilver, and gives him in return millions of pounds
of enervating tea, to the corruption of all Europe.
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[ 299 ]
CHAPTER II.
Xlochin^China^ Tonquin, Laoi, Corea, eaßern Tatary^ Japaru
It appears inconteftibly from the hiftory of mankind, that, whatever country
has beeil capable of raifing itfelf to any eminent degree of cultivation, it has
influenced a certain circle of it's neighbours. Thus China, though an unwarlike
nation, and with a conftitution ftrongly concentring in itfelf, has notwithftand-
ing difFufed it's influence through many countries round. The queftion is
not, whether thefe countries have been fubdued by China, or remain fubjeft to
iti if they participate in it's inftitutions, language, religion, fciences, arts, and
manners, as far as regards mind they are provinces of the empire.
Cochin-China has derived moft from the chinefe, of whom it has been in
fome meafure a political colony: hence the refemblancc between the two peo-
ple in conftitution and manners, in arts and fciences, m religion, trade, and go-
vernment If s emperor is a vaflal of China, and the nations are intimately
united by commerce. If this bufy, fcnfible, gentle ^people, be compared with
their neighbours, the indolent fiamcfe, the favage natives of Arracan, &c., the
difierence wDl be obvious. But as no rivulet rifes higher than it's fource, it is
not to be expefted, that Cochin-China fliould exceed it's original : it's govern-
ment is more defpotic \ it's religion and fciences are but echoes of thofe of
the mother country.
Tonquin, which lies ftill nearer to China, though feparated from it by rude
mountains, is in a fimilar predicament. The nation is lefs civilized : the de-
gree of cultivation it poflcfles, and which fupports the ftate ; it's manufadures,
trade, laws, religion, knowledge, and cuftoms ; are all chinefe j only far infe-
riour, in confequence of a more foutherJy climate, and the national cha-
xafter.
The impreflion made by China npon Laos is ftill more feeble : for this coun-
try was foon torn from it, and adopted the manners of the fiamefe : yet the
traces of that impreflion are ftill perceptible.
Among the fouthern iflands Java is that, with which the chinefe have the
xnoft particular intercourfe : indeed it is probable, that colonies have been planted
in it by them. Their political eftabliflaments, however, they could not intro-
duce into this diftant and much hotter land : for the laborious fkill of the chi-
jiefe requires an afliduous people, and a temperate climate. They made ufe of
the ifland, therefore, without fafliioning it.
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300 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XL
To the north the ch'nefe fyftem of things has gained more footing, and the
people of China may boaft, that they have contributed more to foften the rude
nations of this vaft region, than the europeans probably in all the four quarters
of the Globe. Korea has been adually fubjefted to the chinefe hj the mant-
chous : and let this once favage nation be compared with it's nortiiern neigti-
bours. The inhabitants of this partly cold country are gentle and benign : in
their amufements and funeral ceremonies, in their boufes and clothing, in their
religion and a certain love of fcience, they at lead imitate the chinefe, by whom
their government was framed, and a few manufaftures eftabliffied. On the
mungals the influence of the chinefe has had a ilill more extenfive operation.
Not only have the mantchous, who conquered China, been polilhed by their
intercourfc with it, fo that tribunals refcmbling thofe of Pckin have been cfta-
blifhed at Schinyang, their capital : but the numerous mungal hordes, the
greater part of which arc fubjeft to China, have not remained uninfluenced by
the chinefe, notwithftanding their ruder manners. Nay if the friendly protec-
tion of this kingdom» in which the torguts amounted in modern times to three
hundred thoufand ftrong, be a benefit, China has treated this extenfive region
more juftly than any conqueror. Often has it quieted the difturbances (rf"
Tibet, and in former days extended it's hand to the Cafpian fea. The con-
tents of the rich graves found in different parts of Mungalia and Tatary afford
evident marks of an intercourfc with China : and if more polifhed nations for-
merly inhabited thcfe countries, they probably were not without a clofe con-
nexion with the chinefe.
The place, however, in which the chinefe have raifcd up the greateft rivals
of their induftry, is Japan. The japanefe were once barbarians ; and certainly,
from their bold and violent charafter, cruel and rigid barbarians : yet from their
proximity and intercourfe with a people, from whom they learned writing
and fciences, arts and manufactures, they have improved themfelves to a
ftate, which in many points rivals or even exceeds that of China. Conformably
to the charafter of the nation indeed, both their government and religion
are more barbarous and fevere : and there is no more profpc6t in Japan, than
in China, of an advancement to greater perfcftion in the fciences, as they are
cultivated in Europe : but if a knowledge and employment of the foil, if in-
duftry in i^riculture and the ufeful arts, if trade and navigation, and even the
rude pomp and defpotic form of their political conftitution, be unqueftionable
fteps of cultivation, the proud japanefe have borrowed them from China. The
annals of this nation record the time, when the japanefe vifited China as bar-
barians: and with whatever peculiarities the rude iflanders have formed them-
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Chap. IL] Ccchin-Chma^ Tonquitty Laos^ Corea^ eaßern Tataryy Japan. 301
felves, in all the inftruments of their cultivation, and in the manner In which
they exercife their arts, the chinefe original is evident.
Now whether thefe people have penetrated ftill farther, and contributed to
the cultivation of either of the two polifhed kingdoms of America, both
of which were fituatc on the wcftem coaft, oppofite to China, will not
be cafy to determine. If a cultivated people from this fide of the Globe
reached America, it could fcarcely be any other than the chinefe, or the iflanders
of Japan. It is much to be regretted, that the hillory of China, in obedience
to the conflitution of the country, is written fo completely in the chinefe
manner. All inventions it afciLbes to it's kings : it forgets the world beyond
It's own limits, and as a hiftory of the empire it is far from an inftruftive
hiftory of man.
CHAPTER III.
Tibet.
Between the great mountains and deferts of Afia, a fpiritual empire,
fingular in kind, credls it's head. This is the grand fovereignty of the
kmas. It is true, the temporal power has been occalionally feparated from
the fpiritual by flight revolutions j but they have always been united again
after a time, fo that in this country the whole conftitution refts on the impe-
rial pontificate, in a manner clfewhere unknown. According to the dodlrinc
of metempfychofis, the grand lama is animated by the god Si.aka, or Fo, who,
at the deceafe of one lama, tranfmigrates into the next, and confccrates him
an image of the divinity. The defcending chain of lamas is continued dowa
from him in fixed degrees of fan6tity,.fo that a more firmly eftabliflied facer-
dotal government, in dodrines, cuftoms, and inftitutions, than aftually reigns
over this elevated country, cannot be conceived. The fupreme manager of
temporal affairs is no more than the viceroy of the fovereign prieft, who, con-
formably to the principles of his religion, dwells in divine tranquillity, in a build-
ing that is both temple and palace. The lama account of the creation of the
World abounds with monftrous fables : the threatened punifliments and peni-
tences for fin are fevere : and the ftate, after which their fandity urives, is highly
unnatural, ccnfifllng in monadic continence, fuperftitious abfencc of thought,
and the pcrfeA repofe of nonentity. Yet there is fcarcely any religion upon
Earth fo widely fpread as this. Not only in Tibet and Tangut, and by the
greater part of the mungals, mantchous, kalcas, eleutbs, is the lama worfliipped ;
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30Z PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXL
and if fomc of them have difpenfed with the adoration of his perfon in modcra
times, flill a certain modification of the religion of Shaka is the only faiüi they
profefs, the only worfliip they follow : but this religion extends far to the fouth
alfo: the names of Sommonacodom, Shakja-Tuba, Sangol-Muni, Shigemuni«
Bu'ldo, Fo, Shekia, are all the fame with Shaka; fo that this facred monadic
uoftrine pervades Hindoftan, Ceylon, Siam, Pegu, Tonquin, and even China,
Corea, and Japan ; though not every where retaining in equal degrees the
cumberfome mythology of the tibetians. Even in China the doArinee of Fo
conftitute the popular faith j while the principles of Confucius and Lao-tle
are only fpccies of a political religion and philofophy adopted by the higher
ranks, that is, by the learned. The government is indifferent to cither religion :
it's care proceeds no farther, than to render the lamas and bonzes innocuous to
the ftate, by prcferving it from the fovereignty of the dalai-lama. Japan ha»
long been a Semi-Tibet : the dairi was the fpiritual fovereign, and the cubo his
temporal fervant ; till the latter took the reins into his own hand, and reduced
the former to a mere cipher : a ftep that arifes in the courfc of things, and will
fome time be the lot of the lama alfo. It -is only owing to the fituation
of his empire, the barbaroufnefs of the mungal tribes, and more efpecially
the favour of the emperor of China, that the Tama has remained fo long what
he is.
The religion of the lamas afluredly never originated on the cold mountains
of Tibet : it muft have been the offspring of a warmer climate, the creature of
fome enervate mmds, that love above all things to indulge in bodily reft, and
freedom from thought. It did not reach the rude heights of Tibet, or even
China itfelf, till the firft century after the chriftian era; and then it received in
each a different modification, according to the ftate of the country. In Tibet
and Japan it was rigid and fevere : among the mungals it became a lefs effica-
cious fuperftition : while Siam, Hindoftan, and fimilar countries, cheriftied it
under it's mildeft afpeft, as a natural produäion of their warmer climate. From
this difference of form, it has had very different effcds on the countries, in
which it has flouriflied. In Siam, Hindoftan, Tonquin, and fomc others, it
lulls the minds of men, and renders them compaffionate and unwarlike, patient,
gentle, and indolent. The talapoins afpire not to the throne : they only require
alms for the abfolution of finners. In ruder foils, where the climate does not
fo eafily afford fupport for idle beadfmen, their eftabli(hment demands more
art, and thus they at length unite the palace and the temple. The incon-
fiftencies, which not only conneft but fupport human affairs, are fingular.
If every tibetian obeyed fhe law» of the lamas, and ftrove to imitate their
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Ghap. III.] Tibet. 303
fuprcme virtues, Tibet would foon be no more. A race of men, keeping
themfelves unconnefted with each other, not cultivating their frigid foil, pur-
fuing neither trade nor manufaäures, muft haften to an end : while dreaming
of Heaven they would perifti with cold and hunger. But happily nature is
more powerful in man, than any opinion he may embrace. The tibetian mar-
nes, though marriage is a (in : and his induftrious wife, who indeed takes
more than one hufband, and labours more than a man, willingly foregoes the
chief places in Paradife, to continue the prefent World. If there be a reli-
gion u} on Earth, that deferves the epithets of monftrous and inconfiftent, it is
the religion of Tibet * : and it cannot altogether be denied, that, if chriftia-
nity were propagated in it's moft rigid dodrlnes and praftices, it would no
wlu-rc appear in a worfe form than on the tibetian mountains. Fortunately,
however, the fcvcre monaftic religion has been as incapable of changing the
fjMiit o' il.c nation, as of altering it's wants and climate. The inliabitant of
the lofty mountains purchafes abfolution for his fins, and enjoys health and
chcerfulnc s . be feeds and kills animals, though he believes the tranfmigration
of fouis i anri keejj*: a wedding feafl for a fortnight, though his prieft incul-
cates celibacy as tl:.c only ftate of perfedtion. Thus the opinions of mankind
have alwajs accommodated martcrs with their wants : they have haggled with
each other, till a tolerable bargain was ftruck between them. How unfortunate
would it be for men, if every folly, that prevails in the creeds received by na-
tions, were to be completely followed up in praftice 1 But now, moft are be-
lieved and not pradlifed, and this neutral fentiment of dead perfuafion is every
where called forth. It is not to be fupppofed, that the calmuc lives con-
formably to the pattern of perfection in Tibet, becaufe he adores a little idol,
or worftiips the excrement of the lama.
But this difgulling iyftem of the l^mas has not been barely innocent : it has
certainly had ic's ufe. By it a grofs heathen nation, holding it felfdc:fcended
from apes, has been raifcd into a polifhed, and in many points a refined people :
though to this the neighbourhood of China greatly contributed. A religion
originating in India mull have a predileftion for ckaniinefs : thus the tibetians
were prevented from living like tatarian mountaineers. Even that extravagant
chaftity, which their lania^ preach, has ferved as a goal of virtue to the nation ;
and the modefty, temperance, and referve, remarked in both fexes, may be
confidcred as at leaft part of the race toward it : where too, indeed, half is
• See G«r^/W//W>-V. TOr/Ä/f., Rome, 1762, gen. Vol. IV, p. 271, &c., and the cllay in
a book abounding with learned lumber; yet, SchlcBzcr's-ßr/g/^wfr/j/^/.'CorreipondeEce,' Vol.
with tlie accounts in Pallas's Ntrdijchtn Btitr^e- V, the chief book we have refpeding Tibet.
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S04 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XI.
better than the whole. The doörine of the metempfychofis excites compaffion
toward animals : and perhaps the rude inhabitants of rocks and mountains
could not be held by a gentler rein than this opinion, and the belief in long
penitences and the pains of Hell. In (hort the tibetian religion is a fpecies of
the papal, fuch as it prevailed in Europe itfclf in the dark ages, and indeed
without that morality and decorum, for which the mungals and tibetians arc
commended. The religion of Sfiaka has been of fervice to mankind likewiie
by introducing a fort of learning, and a written language, among thefe moun-
taineers, and even farther, among the mungals. Probably the preparatory
means of a degree of cultivation, now ripening for thefe regions alfo.
The way of Providence among nations is wondrous long, yet it is the pure
order of nature. Gymnofophifts and talapoins, that is, contemplative folita-
ries, have cxiftcd in the eaft from the remoteft times : their nature and their
climate led them to this mode of life. Seeking quiet, they fled from the
buftle of fociety, and lived contented with the little, that fertile nature gave.
The oriental is as ferious, and moderate in words, as temperate in meat and
drink. He willingly refigns himfelf to the wings of imagination : and whither
could thefe carry him, but to the contemplation of univerfal nature, to the
origin of the World, the decay and renovation of things ? Both the cofmogony
and the metempfychofis of the orientals are poetical reprefentations of what is and
will be, fuch as they may be conceived by a limited human undcrftanding and
a feeling heart. * I live and enjoy my life a little while : why (hould not all
around me enjoy their exiflence, and live uninjured by me ?* Hence the mora-
lity of the talapoins, which fo cfFeftivcly and felf-denyingly inculcates the no-
thingnefs of all things, the eternal mutation of forms in the World, the internal
afflidion of the infatiate defires of the human heart, and the pleafures of a pure
mind. Hence too the gentle himiane ordinances, which they gave to mankind
for fparing themfelvcs and other beings, and the praifes of which they chaunt
in their hymns, and record in their maxims. Thefe they no more derived
from Greece, than they did their cofmogony : for both are the genuine offspring
of the feelings and fentiments of their climate. In them every thing is flrained
to the higheft pitch ; fo that Indian hermits alone can live conformably to the
doftrines of the talapoins : and befides, every thing is fo enveloped in endleß
fables, that if ever a Shaka lived, he would fcarcely recognize himfelf in one of
the features afcribed to him as fubjedls of gratitude or praife. Yet does not
a child learn his firft wifdom and morals by means of failles ? and are not moft
of thefe nations, whofe minds remain in a gentle flumber, children all their
lives long ? Let us not accufe Providence, therefore, for what could not be
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Chap. III.] Tibet. 305
othcrwife, according to the order Ihe chofe for the human race. She knit every-
thing with tradition, and thus men could not impart to each other more, than
they themfelves had, and knew. Every thing in nature, and confequently the
philöfophy of Budda, is good or bad, according to the ufe that is made of it.
On the one hand it exhibits as fine and lofty fcntiments, as on the other it is
capable of exciting and foftering, as it abundantly has, indolence and deceit.
In no two countries has it remained precifely the fame : but wherever it exifts,
it has raifed itfelf at leaft one ftep above grofs heathenifm, the firfl: twilight of
a purer morality, the firft infantile dream of that truth, which comprehends
the univerfe.
CHAPTER IV.
Hsndoßan,
Though the doftrinc of the bramins is no more than a branch of that widely
ipread religion, which has formed fedts or fovereignties from Tibet to Japan ;
ftill it deferves particular confideration in the place of it's birth, as it has formed
theie the moft Angular and perhaps durable government in the World ; this is
the divifion of the hindoo nation into four or more cafts, over which the bra-
mins rule as forming the firft. That they obtained this fway by bodily fubju-
gation is by no means probable : for they arc not the military caft of the peo-
ple, which, the king himfelf included, comes only next to them ; and their
prctenfions are founded on no fuch claim, even in their fables. Their domi-
nion over the reft is derived from their origin, on the fcore of which they pride
themfelves as fprung from the head of Brama, while the foldiery proceeded from
his brcaft, and the other cafts from his different limbs. On this their laws and the
conftitution of the ftatc are founded, according to which they make a particular
caft, which is to the nation what the head is to the body. Similar divifions into
cafts have formed in other regions the fimpleft eftablifliment of fociety : in
imitation of nature, that divides trees into branches, people into tribes and
families. Such was the fyftem of Egypt j which, like that of Hindoftan,
made arts and trades hereditary: and that the caft of fages and priefts af-
iigned to itfelf the higheft place, we obferve in feveral nations. In fuch
a degree of cultivation, this appears to me the natural courfe of things ; as wif-
dom is fuperiour to ftrength, and in ancient times the caft of priefts appropriated
to itfelf almoft all political fcience. The importance of the priefthood
declines only with the general diffufion of knowledge through all ranks; and
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3o6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XI.
for this reafon the pricfts have fo frequently oppofcd the enlightening of the
people.
The hiftorj' of Hindoftan, of which we know much lefs than could be wiflied,
affords us fome clear hints refpefting the origin of the bramins *. This makes
Brama, a wife and learned man, who invented fevcral arts and in particular
writing, a vizir of one of their ancient kings, Criflien, whofe fon divided the
people by law into the four well known calls. He placed the fon of Brama at
the head of the firft caft, which included the aftrologers, phyficians, and pricfts :
other nobles were appointed hereditary governors of provinces, and from thefc
the fecond caft of the hindoos is defccnded : the third caft was confined to tlic
cultivation of the ground j the fourth, to the purfuit of arts : and this eftablifli-
ment was to continue for ever. He built the town of Bahar for the philofo-
phers ; and as the feat of his empire, and the fchools of the bramin?> were chiefly
on the banks of the Ganges, the reafon why fo little is fiiid of them by the
greeks and romans is obvious : for it appears, that tliefe were unacquainted with
the interiour parts of India ; Herodotus defcribing only the people on the Hin-
dus, and the northern part of the peninfula beyond the Ganges, and Alexander
having advanced no farther than the Hyphafes. It is not to be wondered,
therefore, that at firft they obtained only general accounts of the bramins, that
is, of the folitary philofophers, living in the manner of the talapoins j and after-
wards heard obfcure tales of the famaneans and germans on the Ganges, of the
divifion of the people into cafts, of their dodbrine of the tranfmigration of fouls,
&c. Even thefe mutilated relations however (how, that the inftitution of the
bramins is ancient, and a native of the country bordering on the Ganges ;
which the very old monuments at Ja^ernaut -f-, Bombay, and other parts of
the peninfula, confirm. Both the idols, and the whole economy of their tem-
ples, are fuitable to the fentiments and mythology of the bramins, who have
fprcad themfelves abroad through India from their facred Ganges, and been
honoured, in proportion to the ignorance of the people, where they have ar-
rived. The Ganges, as their birth place, has remained the chief feat of their
holy rites : though as bramins they arc not merely a religious, but a truly po-
litical tribe, refembling the orders of lamas, levite?, eg}'ptian pricfts, &c.,
and have pertained to the primitive conftitution of the ftate throughout
India.
For thoufands of years this influence of the order on the minds of men has
been Angularly profound : for, in fpite of the mungal yoke, which they have
♦ Dow'fHiftory of Hindoftan, Vol. I, p. lo, 1 1.
t Zcnd-A^fU, by D'Anquctii, Vol. I, p. 81, and foil«. : Nicbuhr'« Travels, Vol. II.
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Crap. IV.] HinJoßan. 307
fo long born, it's importance and doftrincs ftill remain unfliaken, and thefe
exert fuch a powerful fway over the hindoos, as fcarcely any other religion has
ever dilplayed *. The charafter, way of life, and manners of the people, even
to the minuteft trifles, nay to their very thoughts and words, are their work :
and though many parts of the religion of the bramins are extremely trouble-i
ibme and oppreffive, they remain as facred as the divine laws of nature, even to
the lowed cafts. Such of them as embrace a foreign religion are for the moft
part only malefadors and outcafts, or poor deferted children. The fenfe of fu-
periority, too, with which the hindoo, even under the preflTure of extreme want,
contemplates the european whom he ferves, is a fufficient guaranty, that this
people, while it exifts, will never mix with any other. No doubt the charaftcr
of the nation and the climate are the grounds of this unparalleled efiedl : for no
people are endowed with more quiet patience, and gentle docility of mind.
But that the hindoo does not follow the precepts and cuftoms of every foreigner
arifes evidently from this, that the inftitution of the bramms already fo occu-
pies bis whole mind, and employs his whole life, as to leave no room for any
other. His frequent feftivals and ceremonies, his multiplicity of deities and
£ibles, his numerous facred places and works of merit, employ the whole ima-
gination of the hindoo from his infancy, and remind him of what he is almoft
every moment of his life. All the inftitutions of Europe float only on the fur-
fiicc of a mind thus profoundly fwaycd i and this fway I believe capable of con-
tinuing as long as a hindoo (hall exift.
With rcfpeft to all human inftitutions, the queftion, whether they be good
or evil, is neceflfarily complicated. Undoubtedly the fyftem of the bramins,
when it was flrft eftabliflied, was good : otherwife it could not have fpread fo
wide, penetrated fo deep, and endured fo long. The human mind fliakes off
what is pernicious to it, as foon as it can : and though the hindoo may be ca-
pable of bearing more than another, he certainly would never love poifon.
It is inconteftible too, that the bramins have formed their people to fuch a
degree of gentlenefs, courtefy, temperance, and chaflity, or at leaft have fo con-
firmed them in thefe virtues, that curopeans frequently appear, on comparifon
with them, as beaftly, drunken, or mad. Their air and language are uncon-
ftrainedly elegant ; their behaviour, friendly j their perfons, clean ; their way of
life fimple and harmlefs. Their children are educated without feverity ; yet
they are not deftitute of knowledge, and ftill lefs of quiet induftry, or nicely
• See oa this fobjeA Dow, Holwell, Son- l/^Z/f^ff/ri, and every other defcription of the hia-
nerat, Alexander Rofs, Mackintolh, the ac- doo religion and people,
£oants of the xniffionariei of Halle^ the Latre
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3o8 PHILOSOPHT OF HISTORY. [Book XI.
imitative art : even the loweft cafls learn reading, writing, and arithmetic.
As the teachers of youth, the bramins cannot be denied the merit of hav-
ing been benefaftors to mankind for fome thoufands of years. Lrt the reader
turn to the relations given by the miffionaries of tJalle, and mark the
found reafoning artd benign difpofition of the bramins and malabars, in their
queftions, anfwers, and objeftions, as well as in their whole behaviour, and
he will feldom give the palm to the preachers from Europe. The leading idea
the bramins entertain of God is fo grand and beautiful, their morality is fo pure
and fublime, and even their fables, when fcanncd by the eye of reafon, are fo
refined and charming, that I cannot altogether afcribe to tlieir inventon, even
in the monftrous and romantic, that abfurdity, which it is probaWe they gained
in the courfe of time by paffing through the mouths of the people. That, in
ipite of all the oppreflion of the mohammedans and chriftian?, the order of bra-
mins has preferved it's artfully conftrufted and beautiful language *, and with it
fome of the ruins of ancient aftronomy and chronolog)', phyfic and juri(pru-
dence, is not without merit in fuch a fituation-j*: for the mechanical manner in
which they exercifc thefe fciences is fufficient for their fphere of life, and what is
unfiriendly to their improvement confirms their durability and effed. With regard
to others, the hindoos perfecute no one : they allow all to follow their own reli-
gion, knowledge, and way of life : why (hould not others allow them the fame li-
berty, and confider them at leaft as well-meaning people, though mifled by
the errours of their hereditary traditions ? Of all the feAs of Fo, which occupy
the eaftern world of Afia, this is the flower : more learned, more humane, more
ufeful, more noble, than all the bonzes, lamas, and talapoins.
With this it muft not be concealed, that, as in all other himian inftitutions,
fo in this, there is much that is oppreffive. Not to mention the endlefs violence,
which the confinement of the different ways of life to hereditary cafts necefla-
rily involves, as it nearly excludes all freedom in improving the arts, and bringing
them to perfeftion : the contempt with which the lower caft, the pariars, are treat-
ed, is particularly ftriking. They are not only condemned to the bafeft offices, and
eternally prohibited from all connexion with any other of the cafts j but they arc
even deprived of the claims of humanity, and the rites of religion : for no one
dares touch a pariar, and his very look profanes a bramin. Though many rcafons
are affigned for this abafement, and among others, that the pariars may be a
fubjugated nation ; none of them are fufEciently confirmed by hiftory. In per-
fon, at leaft, they differ not from the other hindoos. Here, as in fo many other
* See Haihed's Grammar of the Bengal Lan- Vlndtt * Voyage in the Indian Ocean,' Vol. I j
guage, printed at Hoogly in Bengal, 1778. Halhed*s Code of Gencoo Lawrs; dec.
f See Le Gentil's Voyagt dam Us Men dt
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Chap. IV.] Hindoßan, 309
things of ancient inftitution, we muft recur to the rigid primitive ordinance, ac-
cording to which, probably, the very poor, or malefaftors and reprobates, were
condemned to a ftate of dcbafement, to which their innocent and numerous
defccndants have aftonifliingly fubmitted. The fault lies folely in the claflifi-
cation by families j according to which the loweft lot of life muft fall to fome,
and tlie purity arrogated by the reft ftill augments the burden. Now what
could be more natural, than to confider it at length as a punifhment from
Heaven, to be born a pariar, and, conformably to the doftrine of the metemp-
fychofis, as a fate merited by crimes in a former ftate of life ? This hypothefis of
the tranfmi2;r:uion of Ibuls, grand as it was in the mind of him, by whom it was
firft imagined, and greatly as it may have benefitted mankind, muft neceflarily
have occafioned much evil alio, as does every opinion, that overfteps human
nature. Wiiiie, for inftance, it excited a falfe compaflion towards every living
creature, it diminiflied real fympathy for the miferies of our fellows ; the un-
happy among whom it held as criminals fufferii^ under the burden of former
mifdeeds, or as men proved by the hand of Fate, who would reward their vir-
tues in a future ftate of exiftence. Accordingly, a want of fympathy is ob-
ferved even in the gentle hindoos, which may probably be confidered as an
efTeft of their organization, though ftill more of their profound fubmiflion to
eternal fate ; a faith, which plunges man into an abyfs, and blunts his aftive
feelings. The burning of wives on the funeral piles of their hufbands may be
reckoned among the barbarous confequences of this doftrine : for to whatever
caufe it owes it's firft introdu<SbioD, whether it entered the round of cuftom as a
punifliment or as an emulation of fome great minds, the braminical dodlrine of
a future ftate has unqueftionably ennobled the unnatural practice, and animated
the poor viftim to encounter death. No doubt this cruel practice renders the
life of the hufband more dear to the wife, as Ihe thus becomes infeparable from
him even in death, and cannot remain behind him without difgrace : but is this
worth the facrifice, when tacit cuftom alone gives it the force of Jaw ? Laftly,
I pafs over the manifold deception and fuperftition inevitable in the braminical
fyftem, from the very circumftance of aftronomy and chronology, religion and
phyfic, being propagated by oral tradition, and confined as myfterics to one
caft : a ftill more pernicious confequence for the whole country was, that this
fupremacy of the bramins muft render the people fooner or lat^r ripe for fub-
jugation. The military caft muft fpeedily become unwarlike, as it's func-
tions claflied with it's religion, and it was fubordinate to another, which ab-
horred all fheddingof blood. Happy would it have been for fuch a peaceful
people, to have dwelt on a folitary ifland, remote from all conquerors : but at
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3IO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XI.
the foot of mountains inhabited by thofe human bcafts of prej', the war-
like mungals ; and near thofe coafts abounding with havens, to receive the
artful and covetous adventurers of Europe; how could the poor hindoos
maintain themfelves, and their pacific fyftem ? Tims it was with the conftitu-
tion of Hindoftan : it fank under internal and external wars, till at length the
maritime power of Europe fubjefted it to a yoke, under which it is uttering it's
laft groans.
Hard courfe of the fete of nations ! yet it is nothing more than the order of
nature. In the moft beautiful and fertile region of the Eartb, man muft early
attain refined ideas, an imagination widely expatiating on nature, gentle man-
ners, and regular inftitutions : but in this region he mufl foon avoid laborious
aftivity, and thus become the prey of every robber, who vifited his happy land.
From remote times the trade to the Eaft Indies was a very lucrative branch of
commerce : the induftrious contented people gave of their treafures by fea and
land to other nations an abundance of precious articles ; and, in confequence
of their remote fituation, remained in tolerable peace and tranquillity: till at
length europeans, from whom nothing is remote, came, and eftablifhed empires
of their own among them« All the information, and all the merchandise, that
they have brought us thence, by no means compenfate the evil they have done
to a nation, by whom they were never offended Yet in this the hand of Fate
prevails, and it will either loofe the chain, or extend it's links.
CHAPTER V,
General Re/leSfions on tie Hißory of ihefe States.
Hitherto we have been confidering thofe political conftitutions of Afia,
which boaft the higheft antiquity, and the firmed duration : now what have
they effefted in the hiftory of mankind ? what is learned from them by the
philofopher of human hiftory ?
Hiftory prefumes a beginning : to the hiftory of a ftate, and of moral culti-
vation, a commencement of thefe is neceffary. But how obfcure is this com-
mencement, among all the nations we have yet contemplated ! Were my
voice of any weight, I would employ it in exhorting every fagacious and difcreet
inveftigator of hiftory, to ftudy the origin of cultivarion in Afia, among it's
moft celebrated nations and empires, laying afidc all hypothefis, and throwing
off the ftiackles of preconceived opinion. An accurate examination of the ac-
counts and monuments we have of thefe nations, of their writing and languages.
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Chap. V.] Genera/ ReßeSiiom on tie mofi ancient States of Afta. 3 1 x
of their moft ancient works of art and mythology, or the principles and prac-
tices they dill follow in their few fciences ; compared with the place they in-
habit, and the intercourfe they may have had ; would certainly difentangle part
of the chain of their cultivation, the firft link of which would probably be found
neither in Sciinginfkoy, nor in grecian Badtra. The diligent inquiries of a De-
guignes, a Bayer, a Gatterer, and fome others j the bolder hypothefes of Bailly,
Paw, Delifle, &c. ; and the ufeful endeavours, that have been made toward col-
lefting and rendering public the languages and works of Afia ; are preparatory
fteps to the ereftion of an edifice, the firft foundation ftone of which I fliould
be glad to fee laid. Probably we (hould thus difcover the ruins of a temple of
that 'Pro/Of^/? *, which difplays itfelf to our view in fo many natural monu-
ments.
2. The civilization of a people is a term not eafy to cxprefs; but to conceive
the idea, and carry it into praftice, is ftill more difficult. That a ftranger arriving
in a country fliould enlighten a whole nation, or that a king (hould enjoin the
civilization of a people by law, can be poffible only from a coincidence of various
auxiliary circumftances : for men are formed only by education, inftruftion, and
permanent example. Hence it was, that all nations foon fell upon the method
of admitting into the body politic a clafs of men appointed to inftruft, educate,
and enlighten the reft ; fetting them above the other clalTes, or afligning them
a middle rank. Admit this to be the threfliold of a very imperfedt degree of
cultivation, ftill it is neceflary in the childhood of the human race ; for where-
ever fuch teachers of the people have been wanting, thefe have remained eter-
nally ignorant and flothful. Confequently fome fort of bramins, mandarins,
talapoins, lamas, or the like, have been neceflary to every nation in it's political
infancy : and indeed we fee, that this order of men alone has extenfively diffufed
the feeds of artificial cultivation throughout Afia. If there be fuch, the emperor
Yao may fay to his fervants Hi and Ho -f- : * go obferve the ftars, mark the
courfe of the Sun, and portion out- the year.' If Hi and Ho be no aftrono-
mers, his imperial command is of no efFeft.
3. There is a difference between the cultivation of men of learning, and the
cultivation of the people. The learned man muft underftand the fciences, the
exercife of which is enjoined him for the benefit of the flatc : thefe he prelervcs;
and thefe he confides to thofe of his own rank, not to the people. Such among
us are the higher fpecies of mathematics, and many other branches of know-
• Primitive World. T.
f Beginning of the Shoo«Klng, p. 6, in the edition of Deguignei.
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312 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXI.
ledge, which are not of common ufe, and therefore not for the people. Thclc
were the occult fcienccs, as they were called, of the ancient political inftitutions,
which the pried or bramin prcferved for his own clafs alone, becaufe it was
appointed for their exercife, and every other clafs in the ftate had it's own occu-
pations. Thus algebra is even now an occult fcience : for few in Europe un-
dcrftand it, though learning it is prohibited to none. Now indeed we have
ulclefsly and detrimentally confounded in many points the fpheres of learned
and popular cultivation, and extended this almoft to the amplitude of that : the
ancient founders of ftates, who thought more like men, thought on this fubjeft
alfo more wifely. They placed the cultivation of the people in good morals,
and ufcful arts : for grand theories, even in philofophy and religion, they deemed
the people unqualified j and fuch theories, therefore, they conceived ufelefs to
them. Hence the ancient modq of teaching by fables and allegories, fuch as the
bramins now utter to the unlearned cafts : hence in China the diftinftion in
common ideas almoft according to every clafs of the people, eftablifhed and not
unwifely retained by the ftate. If we would compare a nation of the eaft of
Afia with ours in refpedt of cultivation ; it is neceflary firft to be known, in
what cultivation is deemed by it to confift, and of what clafi of men we fpeak.
If a nation, or a clafs of men, poffefs good morals and arts; if it have fuch
ideas, and fuch virtues, as fuffice for it's labours and a happy and contented life;
it is fufEciently enlightened for it's wants ; even fuppofing it unable to account
for an eclipfe, otherwife than by the well known tale of the dragon. This talc
was probably told it by it's teachers, that no one might grow gray in the ftudy
of the courfes of the Sun and ftars. I cannot poffibly perfuade myfelf, that
every individual of every nation was intended to acquire a metaphyfical idea of
God, without which, though probably at laft turning on a mere word, he mud
be fuperftitious, barbarous, and lefs than man. Is the japanefc prudent, brave,
dexterous, and ufeful in his ftation ? then is he cultivated, let him think as he
will of Budda and Amida. Does he relate to you fabulous ftories concerning
thcfe i tell him other fables in return, and vou will balance the account.
4. Even a perpetual progrefs in the cultivation of learning is not eifential to
the happinefs of a ftate j at leaft not according to the notions of the ancient
eaftern empires. In Europe all the men of learning form a feparate ftate,
which, crefted on the previous labours of many centuries, is artificially fupportcd
by common aids, and the emulation of realm againft realm : for to nature in
general the pinnacle of fcience, after which we ftrive, does no fervice. All Eu-
rope is one learned kingdom, which, partly by internal emulation, partly by the
auxiliary means it has abundantly procured in modern times from every part of
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Cfl A^ . v.] General RefleBhfis on tie moft ancient States ofAßa. 3 1 3
the World, has attained an ideal form, which the man of learning only pene-
trates, and the ftatefman employs. Once entered on this courfe we cannot
(land ftill : we purfue the magic image of perfeft fcience and univerfal know-
ledge, which it is true we (hall never overtake, but which will hold us in chafe,
as long as the conftitutions of Europe fliall endure. It is not fo with the king-
doms, that have never engaged in this conteft. Orbicular China, behind it's
mountains, is a fimple enclofed realm : all it's provinces, however different their
people, fettled on the principles of an ancient conftitution, are not in a ftate of
rivalry together, but of the profoundeft obedience. Japan is an ifland, an
enemy to every ftranger, like ancient Britain, and ftands like a world of itfelf,
amid it's rude rocks and ftormy fea. It is the fame with Tibet, furrounded by
mountains, and fkvage nations : the fame with the conftitution of the bramins»
which has groaned for centimes beneath the yoke. How could the germes of
progreffive fcience, which burft even through the rocks of Europe, fprout forth
in thefe realms ? How coxild thefe people receive even the fruits of the tree fix>m
the dangerous hands of europeans, who have robbed them of what was their
own, political fecurity, and their very land itfelf? Thus, after a few eflays, each
fnail has retreated within it's Ihell, and rejefted even the moft fragrant rofe
brought in the mouth of a ferpent. The fcience of their pretended men of
learnbg is adapted to the country ; and China received from the officious je*
fuits no more than it deemed abfolutely ntceflary. Probably it would have
accepted more, had it arrived in a time of neceffity : but as moft men, and ftill
more great political bodies, are rigid, iron animals, to whom danger muft ap-
proach very near, before they alter their old courfe ; fo, without figns and
wonders, every thing will remam as it is, though the nation may be by no means
deficient in capacity for fcience. It wants nothing but prime movers » inve-
terate cuftom refiftii^ every new impulfe. How flow was Europe herfelf id
learning her beft arts !
5. The ftate of a kingdom may be eftimated either in itfelf, or in comparifon
with others: Europe muft employ both ftandards; the afiatic empires have only
the former. No one of thefe has fought other worlds, to employ them as the
pedeftals of it's grandeur, or poifon itfelf with their fuperfluities ; every one
makes ufe of what it has, and is fatisfied with it's own. China has even re-
frained from working her own mines of gold ; not venturing to ufe them, from
a confcioufnefe of her weaknefs 5 and the foreign trade of China is carried on
wholly without the fubjugation of other countries. From this prudent wifdom
all thefe lands have derived the unqueftionable benefit of being obliged, to make
the moft ufe of what they have withm themfclves, as they obtain fewer fijpplies
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314 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookXI.
from external commerce. We europeans, on the contrary, wander over the
whole World as merchants or as robbers, and frequently negleft on ihis account
our own homes : Britain itfelf is far from difplaying fuch agricultural induftry as
is exhibited in the chinefe territories, or in the ifland of Japan. Our bodies politic
are animals infatiably devouring every thing that is foreign, good and bad, food
and poifon, coffee and tea, filver and gold ; and, in a ftate of high fever, difplay
much fupernatural energy. Theirs reckon only on their internal circulation,
living flowly like the worm, which on this account has endured, and ftill may
endure long, if external circumftances do not deftroy the ileeping animal. Now
it is well known, that in every thing the ancients calculated on a longer duration,
as well in their political fyftems, as in their monuments : we aft with vivacity, and
fo much the more (peedily run through the fliorter period allotted us by fete.
6. Laftly, every thing earthly and human is governed by time and place, as
every particular nation is by it's charafter, uninfluenced by which it can do no-
thing. Had the eaft of Afia joined Europe, it would long have ceafed to be
what it is. Were not Japan an ifland, it would not be in it's prefcnt flate.
Were all thefe kingdoms together now to be formed, they would not cafily be-
come what they did three or four thoufand years ago : the whole animal, which
we call the Earth, on the back of which we dwell, is now Ibme thoufands of
years older. Singular and wonderful are what we call the genetic fpirit and
charadter of a people. It is inexplicable, it is ineradicable : ancient as the
nation, ancient as the country it inhabits. The bramin pertains to his r^on :
no other, he is perfuaded, merits it's facred foil. Thus the flamefe, and the ja-
panefe; eveiy where, out of their own country, they are untimely planted flirubs.
What the indian folitary thinks of his god, the fiamefe of his emperor, we do
not think : what to us appear aftivity and freedom of mind, manly honour and
female beauty, in their eyes are far otherwife. The confinement of the indian
women is to them by no means infupportable. The empty pomp of a man-
darin would be to any other an infipid farce. It is the fame with all the cuftoms
of diverfified man, nay with all that appears on our Earth. If our ipecies be
deftined to approach, in the eternal path of an afymptote, a point of perfec-
tion, which it does not know, and which, with all the labour of a Tantalus, it
can never touch j you chinefe and japanefe, you lamas and bramins, purfue
this pilgrimage in a tolerably quiet corner of the veffel. You trouble not your-
felves about the unattainable point, and remain as you were thoufands of years
ago.
7. It is confolatory to the invcftigator of man, to obfervc, that Nature has in
no organization forgotten, with all the evils fbe has diftributed among the bu-
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CflAP. V.J Generat ReßeBUons w the moß ancient States tfAfia. j i j
man Ipecies, the balfam, that at leaft mitigates their wounds. The oppreffive
load of aiiatic defpotifin exifts only in nations, that are willing to bear it ; that
is, are lefs fenfible of it's crufliing weight. The hindoo, when, finking under
the fevereft famine, he perceives his emaciated body followed by the dog, that
fvill foon make it his prey, awaits his doom with refignation : he props himfelf
tip, that he may die ercft, while the patiently expefting dog ftarcs him in the
pale, deathlike face : of fuch a refignation we have no idea, yet it frequently re-
ciprocates with the moft violent gufts of paffion. This, however, with the cli-
mate, and the various facilities of livmg, is the antidote, that mitigates the
many evils of a conftitution, which to us appears mfupportable. If we lived
there, we ihould not fubmit to it, for we have underftanding and courage to
alter the bad fyilem \ or we (hould flumber too, and fear the evil patiently like
the hindoo. Great parent. Nature^ with what trifles baft thou connected the
bXt dl the human fpecies t With a change of form in the head and Ibrmn, with
% little alteration in the ftnifture of the oi^ganization and oerves, effefted by cli«
mate, defcent, and habit, the &te of the World, the whole fum of what
ttiankind 4o and fuffer throughout the Eartbj is alfo changed«
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C 316 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK XII.
WE now come to the fliorcs of the Tigris and Euphrates : but how Las
the fece of hiftory changed throughout the whole of this region ! Ba-
bylon and Nineveh, Ecbatana, Perfepolis, and Tyre are no more : nation fol-
lows nation, empire follows empire, and of moft even their very names, and once
celebrated monuments are fwept from the Earth. The appellations of babylo-
nian, aflyrian, chaldean, mede, and phenician, arc no longer born by any people;
and no diftinft traces of their ancient political eftablifhments are now to be
found. Their empires and towns are deftroyed, and the people are difperfcd
about under different names.
Whence arifes this variation from the deeply imprinted charader of the
caftern empires ? Hindoftan and China have been more than once overrun by
the mungals, nay have worn their yoke for centuries ; yet neither has Pekin nor
Benares vaniflied, neither the lamas nor bramins are extinft. To me the dif-
ference of their deftiny appears eafily explicable, if we confider the different fitu-
ations and conftitutions of the two regions. In the eaft of Aiia, beyond the
great ridge of mountains, the fouthern nations had but one enemy, the mungals,
to dread. Thefe wandered peaceably for ages on their hills, or in their valleys ;
and when they overran the neighbouring provinces, their objefts were dominion
and plunder, not deftruftion. Accordingly feveral nations have retained their
own conftitutions for thoufands of years under mungal fovereigns. The throng
of people, that fwarmed between the Euxine and the Cafpian fea, down to
the Mediterranean, was altogether different ; and the Tigris and Euphrates were
the principal guides of thefe hordes in their migrations. The whole of hither
Afia was filled with nomades at an early period : and the more flourifhing cities,
the more polifhed empires, arofe in this fine countrj-, the more did they attradt
favage nations for the purpofe of plunder, or they themfelves knew not how to
employ their increafing power except in deflroying others. How often has
Babylon, that delightful centre of the commerce of the eaft and weft, been taken
and defpoiled ! Tyre and Sidon, Jerulalem» Ecbatana, and Nineveh^ experienced
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Book XIT.] Introduam to the Hißory of Hither Aßa. 3 , 7
no better fate : fo that this whole region may be confidered as the garden of
defolation, where one empire fubverted another, to be itfelf deftroyed in it's
turn.
There is no caufe to wonder, therefore, that many loft even their very names,
and left fcarccly a trace behind them. For in what were their traces to be left ?
Moft of the people of this region had one language, varied only by different
dialefts : accordingly, on their downfal, their dialefts became confounded with
one another, uniting at length in the chaJdee fyriac arabic medley, which now
prevaik in that region, ahnoft without any difcriminating mark of the mingled
people. Their ftates arofe from hordes, and returned to hordes again, without
any permanent political ftamp. The celebrated monuments of a Belus, a Semi-
ramis, and the reft, could ftill lefs affure them the eternity of a pyramid : for they
were conftrufted merely of bricks, which, baked in the fun or by fire, and
cemented with bitumen, were eaCly deftroyed, if they did not periQi beneath
the filent foot of time. The defpotic fovereignties of the founders of Nineveh
and Babylon as gradually decayed \ fo that in this celebrated part of the World
we find nothing to contemplate, but the names once born among the nations
by people now no more. We wander over the graves of departed monarchies,
and fee the ghofts of their former importance on the Earth.
In faft this importance was fo great, that, if we include Egypt within this
i^on, no part of the World, Greece and Rome excepted, has invented and
laid the rudiments of fo many things for Europe, and through the medium of
Europe, for all the nations upon Earth. The number of arts and trades,
that appear, from the accounts of the Hebrews, to have been common
among many little wandering hordes in thefe regions, in the earlieft
periods, is aftonifliing *. Hufbandry, with various implements ; gardening,
fifliing, hunting, and in particular the breeding of cattle ; the grinding of com j
the baking of bread ; the drefiing of food ; wine; oil i the preparation of wool
and leather for garments j fpinning, weaving, and fewing ; painting, tapeftry,
and needlework ; the coining of money ; the engraving of feals, and cutting
of gems ; the fabrication of glafs ; coral-fi filing j mining and metallurg)'' j various
works in metal; the arts of drawing, modelling, and founding; ftatuary and
architefture j mufic and dancing ; writing and poetry ; trade by weight and
meafure ; on the fea coafts navigation ; in the fciences, fome of the elements
of aftronomy, chronology, and geography; phyfic and the art of war; arith-
• See Gogoet*« ' OrigiM dts Leix, i^c, ticularly Gatterer's Kurzer Begrijf dir fTglige*
« Origin of Laws, Arts, and Sciences, and their fchicbtt, • Brief Sketch of Univerfal Hi/lory/
BwfftU among the Ancicnti ;' and more par- Vol. I« Goctingen, 1 785.
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3i8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- tßoozXlL
metiC) geometry, and mechanics ; in political inftitutions, laws, tribiinals, reli-
gion, contrafts, puniChments, and a number of moral cuftoms; were all found
in ufe fo early among the people of hither Afia, that we cotdd not avoid con»
fidering the whole cultivation of this region as the remains of an enUghtened
anteriour world, if we were led to this by no tradition. Only the people wan«
dering at a diftance about the centre of Alia became wild and barbarous, ib
that fboner or later they were to be civilized a (econd time in various ways.
CHAPTER !•
Sabylorif AJJyridi Chaldea^
In the extenfive region of hither Afia, peopled by wandering hordes, the fer-
tile and pleafant banks of the Tigris and Euphrates muft foon have attraded s
number of paftoral tribes : and as they refemble a Paradife, between mountain»
on the one hand, and deferts on the other, there the(e tribes muft have inclined
to fix their refidence. At prefent indeed this country has loft much of it's
beauty ; as it remains almoft without cultivation, and has been expofed for
centuries to the devaftations of predatory hordes : yet particular diftridts ftiU
confirm the general teftimony of the ancient writers, whofe praifes of it knew
no bounds *. Accordbgly this was the birthplace of the firft monarchies of
hiftory, and an early ftorehoufe of ufeful arts.
In the courfe of a wandering life nothing could be mo» natural, than for
fome ambitious Ihcik to conceive the defign of appropriating to himfelf the
delightful banks of the Euphrates, and of uniting together a few hordes to
maintain the poffeflion of them. The hebrew chronicle gives this (heik] the
name of Nimrod, who founded his kingdom with the towns of Babylon, Edefla,
Nifibin, and Ctefiphon : and in the neighbourhood it places another, the king-
dom of AfTyria, with the cities of Refen, Nineveh, Adiabene, and Calaik
From the fituation of thefe kingdoms, with their nature and origin, arofe the
whole of their fubfcquent deftiny, till it terminated in their deftnidlion. For
being founded by different races, and bordering too clofely on each other, what
could follow from the quarrclfome fpirit common to the hordes of thefe regions,
but that they muft look upon each other as enemies, more than once fall under
one fovereignty^ and be difperfed various ways^ by the incurfion of more nortbem
* Sec Baefcbin^i Geography, Vol V# part I.
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Chap. I.] Safy/bn^ Aj^ria^ Chaldea. 3x9
mountaineers ? This is the brief hiftory of the kingdoms on the Tigris and
Euphrates; which, from fuch remote periods, and through the mutilated
accounts of feveral nations, cannot have been handed down to us free from
^onfufion. In the origin, fpirit, and conftitutions of thefe kingdoms, liowever,
both hiftory and fable agree. They fprang from fmall beginnings, and wan-
dering tribes : and they ever retained the charafter of predatory hordes. Even
the defpotifm chat arofe in them, and the various fkill in the arts, for which
Babylon was particularly famed, are perfeftly confiftent with the fpirit of the
country, and the national charafter of it's inhabitants.
For what were the firft towns built by thefe fabled monarchs of the World ?
Great, fortified hordes j the fixed encampments of a tribe, that enjoyed thefe
fertile regions, and made excurfions for the purpofe of plundering others.
Hence the vaft circumference of Babylon, fo foon after it was founded on either
fide the river : hence it's huge walls and towers. The walls were lofty thick
ramparts of baked clay^ ere<fted for the proteftion of an extenfive camp of no-
mades ; and the towers were watchtowers. The whole town, interfperfed with
gardens, was, according to the expreffion of Ariftotle, a pcloponnelus. The
country fiirniflied in abundance materials for this fort of architecture natural
to nomades ; clay, namely, out of which they formed bricks, and bitumen,
with which they learned to cement them. Thus nature facilitated their labours :
and the foundations being once laid in the nomade ftyle, it was eafy to enrich
and beautify them, when the horde had made excurfions, and returned with
booty.
And what were the famous conquefts of a Ninus, a Semiramis, and the reft,
other than predatory expeditions, like thofe of the prefent arabs, curdes, and
tuTComans ? The a%rians were even by defcent mountain banditti, whofe
names have been handed down to pofterity with no other renown, than that
of having robbed and plundered. From the remoteft periods the arabs are par-
ticularly named in the fcrvice of thefe conquerors of the World : and we know
the unchangeable way of life of thefe people, which will continue as long as the
deferts of Arabia ftiall endure. At a later period the chaldeans appear on the
ftage : and thefe, both from their defcent, and their firft places of abode, werc
plundering curdes*. In hiftor}' they have diftinguiflied themfelves by no*
thing but devaftation : for the fame they have acquired for fcience is probably
an honorary title, which they gained as part of their booty in the conqueft of
• See Schloetzcr on the ohaldces, in the Repertorim/ur iit nurgtHlandifcht Litttraiur^ « Reper-
tory of oriental Literature/ Vol. VIII, P* 113*
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310 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIL
Babylon* Thus wc may confider the fine country bounded by thefe ftream«
as the theatre of wandering tribes, or predatory hordes, both in ancient and
modern times, who here coUefted their plunder in ftrong holds, till at length
they fank under the voluptuous warmth of the climate, and, debilitated by
luxury, became a prey to others.
The celebrated works of art of a Semiramis, or even a Nebuchadnezzar, can-
not eafily be fuppofed to (iiy more. The earlieft expeditions of the aflyrians
were towards Egypt : the arts of this peaceful civilized country, therefore, fur-
niflicd in all probability the prototypes for the decoration of Babylon. The
famed colofTal ftatue of Belus, and the fculptures on the brick walls of the great
city, appear to have been completely in the egyptian ftyle : and that the febulous
queen repaired to the mountain Bagifthan, to imprint her image on it's fummit,
plainly indicates an imitation of Egypt. For as the fouthern country afforded
her no granite rocks for an eternal monument, (he was impelled to this.
The produdions of Nebuchadnezzar, likewife, were nothing but coloflaZ
ftatues, palaces of brick, and hanging gardens. What was wanting in art and
materials was attempted to be made up by magnitude : and at lead a babyloniaa
charafter was given to the more feeble monument by pleafant gardens. I do
not much regret, therefore, the decay of thefe huge piles of earth; for, it is
probable, .they were far firom ranking high as works of art : what I wi(h is, that
men would ieek among their ruins for tables of chaldee writing, which are cer*
tainly to be found there, according to the teftimony of feveral travellen ♦.
Not properly egyptian arts, but the arts of erratic hordes, and afterwards of
commerce, belonged to this region, as indeed the nature of it's fituation de-
manded. The Euphrates was fubjedt to inundations, and con(equently required
canals to draw oW it's waters, and enable it to impart ferrility to a more exten-
five diftria. Hence the invention of waterwheels and- pumps, if they were not
borrowed firom the egyptians. The country at fome diftance from this river,
which was once inhabited and fruitful, is now fterile, becaufe it is a fbunger to
the aftive hand of induftry. From the care of cattle to hufbandry the ftcp
here was eafy, as the fettled inhabitant was invited to it by Nature herielf. The
fine fruits of the garden and tlie field, that fpontaneoufly (hot forth on the
banks of the Euphrates with uncommon luxuriance, and richly rewarded the
little care they required, converted the (hephcid, almoft without his being con-
fcious of it, into a hu(bandman and gardener. A wood of beautifiil palmtrccs
gave him food in their fruits, and timber for the ercftion of a dwelling more (c-
* See Delia Valle on the tuios near Aiddb^iebnhr on the heaps of nios near Hell«, &c
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Chap. L] Babylon^ AJfyria^ CkalJea. 311
cure than his tent. The day baked with fecility alEfted him in it*s conftruc-
tion i and thus the tent was imperceptibly changed for a better, though lefs
moveable habitation. The fame earth afforded him veffels, and therewith a
hundred convenicncies for domcftic life. He learned to bake bread, and to
drcfs his viftuals, till at length he was led by commerce to thofc voluptuous
feafts and entertainments, for which the babylonians were famed in very remote
times. From making little idols of baked clay, he foon learned to fafliion and
bake colofial {tatues ; from the models of which to moulds for cafting metals
the progrefs was eafy. As letters or figures imprinted on the foft clay were ren-
dered firm by the aid of fire, he learned imperceptibly to preferve a knowledge
of former times in bricks, and improved on the obfervations of his predeceflbrs.
Even aftronomy was a fortunate invention of the wandering tribes of thefe re-
gions. The (hepherd, as he fat feeding his flocks on the beautiful and exten-
live plain, obferved in quiet leifure the rifing and fetting of the bright ftars in
his vaft and clear horizon. He gave them names, as he gave names to his flieep,
and noted down their changes in his memory. Thefe obfervations were conti-
nued on the flat roofs of the houfes of Babylon, on which men amufed them-
fclves with converfation after the heat of the day : till at length a particular
building was ereded for the purpofe of this attra<ftive and indifpenfable fcience,
which continued without interruption the records of the celeftial periods. Thus
has Nature incited man to the acquifition of knowledge and fcience ; fo that
even thefe her gifts are as much local produftions, as any others upon E^tb.
At the foot of Caucafus her fountains of naphtha put fire into the hand of man ;
whence we cannot doubt, that the fable of Prometheus originated there: in the
pleaiknt palm-groves on the banks of the Euphrates (he gently moulded the
wandering fliephcrd into an induftrious inhabitant of towns and cities.
Another clafs of babylonilh arts arofe from the circumftance of this countr}''s
having been from ancient times, as it ever will be, a central point of the com-
merce between the eaft and weft. No celebrated city arofe in the heart of Perfia,
as no river flowed thence to the fca : but what points of animation were the
Hindus and the Ganges, the Tigris and Euphrates ! The Perfian gulf was near,
v.'hich early enriched Babylon, by the tranfport of the merchandize of India, and
mnde it the parent of commercial induftry *. The (plendour of the babylonians
in their linen, tapeftry, needlework, and other ftufTs, is wellknown : wealth in-
troduced luxury : luxury and induftry brought the two fexes clofer together
• Exhhom's Gefihichte des OßintH/cbrn Han* Univir/albißorie, ' Introdu^'iDn to a fyncluoail^
Mh, * Hiftory of the Trade of the Eaft Indies/ tical Univcrfal HiUory/ p. 77.
p. 12 : Gaiierer's EinUiiuniznr Jjncbronißi/cben
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iz2. PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XH.
tlian in other afiatic provinces, to which the reigns of fome queens probably
not a little contributed. In fliort, the formation of thefc people proceeded fo
entirely from their fituation and mode of life, that it would have been a fubjcft
for much wonder, had nothing extraordinary been produced from fuch circum-
ftances, in fuch a part of the World. Nature has her favourite fpots on the
Earth, which, particularly on the banks of rivers, and feled parts of the feaccaft,
excite and reward the induftry of man. As an Egypt arofe on the Nile, a Hin-
doftan on the Ganges ; here (he created a Nineveh and a Babylon, and in more
recent times a Seleucia and Palmyra. Had Alexander attained the accomplifh-
ment of his wifli, to rule the World from Babylon, how different an afpeft would
this delightful country have preferved for ages !
The affyrians and babylonians (hared alfo in alphabetical writing, the poflef-
fion of which the wandering tribes of hither Afia had reckoned among their
advantages from time immemorial. I (hall not here enter into the queftion, to
what people this noble invention is properly due * : fufEce it, that all the ara-
mean tribes boafted of this prefent of the primitive world, and held hierogly-
phics in a fort of religious abomination. I cannot perfuade myfelf, therefore,
that hieroglyphics were employed by the babylonians : their magi interpreted
the ftars, events, accidents, vifions, and fecret writing; but not hieroglyph ics,
Thus the writing of Fatej that appeared to the revelling BeKhazzar +, confifted
of letters and fyllables, which, after the oriental manner, appeared to him in con-
fufcd lines, but not in images. Even the paintings, that Semiramis placed on
her walls, the fyrian letters, that (he direfted to be cut on the rock of her image,
confirm the ufe of letters, without hieroglyphics, among thefe people, in the
rcmoteft times. Thefe alone rendered it po(fible for the babylonians fo early to
have written contrafts, chronicles of their kingdom, and a continued feries of
celeftial obfervations : by thefe alone they have tranfmitted themfclves to pofle-
rity as a civilized people. It is true, neither their aftronomical catalogues, nor
any of their writings, have reached us, though they were extant in the time of
Ariftotle : yet, that they once had fuch gives no fmall fame to this people.
Wlien we talk of the learning of the chaldeans, however, we mufl not meafure
it by our ftandard. At Babylon the fciences were confined exclufively to a clafs
of men of learning, who, on the decline of the nation, became ultimately odious
impoftors. They were called chaldeans probably from the period when the
chaldeans ruled over Babylon : for the ckfs of literati had been a regular order
of the ftatc, eftabli(hed by the government, from the time of Belus : and it is
* Of thii cUewhere. f Daniel V. 5, 25.
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Chap. I.] Babylon^ AJJyria^ Chaldea. 32 j
very likely, that this clafs, by way of flattery to their rulers, aflfumed the name
of their nation. They were the philofophers of the court, and accordingly
ftooped to all the bafe arts and deceptions of court pliilofophy. In thefe times,
it may be prefumed, they added as little to their ancient ftorcs, as the chincfe
tribunal to the improvement of learning in China.
The proximity of the mountains, from which fo many uncivilized nations
came thronging down, was in fome refpefts fortunate, in othen unfortunate, to
this delightful country. The aflyrian and babylonian empires were fubdued by
the Chaldeans and medes, and thefe were conquered by the perfians, till at length
the whole became a fubjugated defert, and the feat of empire was transferred to
a more northern region. Thus wc have not much to learn from thefe empires,
cither in war or politics. Their mode of attack was rude, their conquefts only
plundcrings, their polity the miferable mode of governing by fatraps, which has
almoft always prevailed among the orientals in thefe parts. Hence the perma-
nent form of thefe monarchies : hence the frequent revolts againft them, and
their total overthrow by the capture of a fingle city, or one or two general battles;
Indeed, foon after the empire was firft overturned, Arbaces endeavoured to efta-
blilh a fort of connedled ariftocracy of fatraps : but he did not fucceed ; as all
the median and aramean tribes in general knew no mode of government except
the defpotic. Their mode of life had been that of nomades : accordingly their
idea of a king yfr2& that of a flieik, and father of a family, and this left no room
for political liberty, or the joint fway of many. As one Sun enlightens the
Heavens, fo (hould there be but one ruler on Earth, and he foon aflfumed all
the fplendour of the Sun, all the glory of a terreftrial divinity. Every thing
flowed from his fevour : every thing attached to his perlbn : in him the ftate
lived, and with him it commonly terminated. A haram was the court of the
prince : be was acquainted with nothing but filver and gold, men-fervants and
maid-fervants, lands that he poflfeflcd as fields of pafture, and herds of men
whom he drove wherever he pleafed, if indeed he forbore from flaughtering
them. Barbarous government of wandering hordes ! yet occafionally, though
but feldom, it enjoyed a good prince, the true (hepherd and father of his
people.
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324 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXU.
CHAPTER ir.
Medes and Perßans.
The medes are known in the hiftory of the World for warlike deeds and
luxury ; but have never diftinguiflied themfelves by new inventions, or im-
provements in the conftitution of the ftate. They were mountaineers, brave and
ikilled In horfemanftiip, the natives of a northern country for the mod part un-
cultivated. With thefe qualifications, they fubverted the ancient afTyrian em-
pire, the fultans of which indolently flumbered in their harams j and foon with-
drew themfelves from the new empire of Affyria. But they were as quickly
fubjefted by their fagacious Dejoces to a rigorous monarchical government,
which at length exceeded the perfian itfelf in luxury and fplendour. At length
they were united, under Cyrus the great, with that multitude of nations, which
exalted the perfian monarchs into fovereigns of the World.
If there be any prince, with whom hiftory feems to deviate into fiftion, it is
Cyrus, the founder of the perfian empire ; whether wc read the accounts of this
child of the gods, the conqueror and lawgiver of nations, given by the hebrews
or the perfians, Herodotus or Xenophon. Unqueflionably the laft-mentioncd
pleafing hiftorian, who caught the idea of a Cyropedia fi:om his tutor, coUcftcd
fome truths concerning him, during his campaigns in Afia : but as Cyrus had
long been dead, he could have heard them only after the afiatic manner, in that
ftyle of exaggerated praife, which thefe people always employ in their accounts
of their kings and heroes. Thus Xenophon was to Cyrus, what Homer was to
Ulyffes and Achilles, with regard to whom the poet had fome truths, on which
to build. To us, however, it is of little importance, which of the two deals
moft in fiftion : it is fufEcient for our purpofe, that Cyrus fubdued Afia, and
founded an empire, which extended firom the Hindus to the Mediterranean fea.
If Xenophon have truly defcribed the mannei"s of the ancient perfians, among
whom Cyrus was educated j the german may be proud, that he is probably of a
race allied to theirs, and may the Cyropedia be read by every prince in Ger-
many.
But, thou great and good Cyrus, could my voice reach thy grave in Pa-
fagarda, it öiould interrogate thy duft, for what purpofe thou becameft fijch
a conqueror. In the youthful courfe of thy vitflories, didft thou afk thyfelf
of what ufe the innumerable nations, the unbounded regions, fubjeAed to
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Chap. IL] Meies and Perßans, 325
thy name, would be to thyfelf and thy pofterity ? Could thy fpirit be always
prefent to them ? could it continue to live and operate on all fucceeding gene-
rations ? And if not, what a burden didft thou impofe on thy fucceffors, in
giving them to wear the royal robe made up of fuch complicated patches ? It's
parts could not fail to break afunder, or prefs the wearer down. This was the
hiftory of Perfia under the fucceffors of Cyrus. His fpirit of conqueft fet be*
fore them fo vaft an objeft, that they aimed at enlarging the empire, when it
could no longer be enlarged: thus they roamed and ravaged on all fides, till the
ambition of a provoked enemy brought them to a melancholy end. The perfian
empire fubfifted fcarcely two centuries j and it is wonderful, that it's duration
was fo long j for it's root was fo fmall, and it's branches fo cxtenfive, that it muft
of ncceffity fall to the ground.
Whenever the empire of humanity (hall be eftabliflicd among mankmd, the
mad fpirit of conqueft, which neceffarily deftroys itfelf in a few generations,
will immediately be renounced at her diftatcs. You drive men like cattle; and
join them together as if they were inanimate fubftances, without reflcfting, that
they have minds, and that perhaps the laft, the outcrmoft piece of the fabric will
break off, and cnifli the builder. A kingdom confifting of a fingle nation is a
family, a wcllrcgulated houlhold : it repofes on itfelf, for it is founded by Na-
ture, and ftands and falls by time alone. An empire formed by forcing toge-
ther a hundred nations» and a hundred and fifty provinces, is no body politic,
but a monfter.
Such was the perfian empire from the beginning ; though it became more
evident after the time of Cyrus. His fon, in every thing elfe different from his
fiither, was defirous of extending his conquefts ftill farther; and fo madly at-
tacked Egypt and Ethiopia, that fcarcely fiimine itfelf could repel him from
the deferts. What did he and his empire gain by it f or in what did he be-
nefit the conquered lands ? He ravaged Egypt, and deftroyed the fplendid
temples and other monuments of art in Thebes. Senfelefs deftroyer ! Slaughtered
generations are replaced by other generations fucceeding : but fuch works are
never to be reftored. Even now they lie in ruins, unexplored, and hardly to
be diftinguifhed : every traveller regrets the madnefs of the fot, who robbed us
of thefe treafures of antiquity for no caufe, and to no end.
Scarcely had Cambyfes fallen a viftim to his own folly, when even the wifer
Darius fet out from the point, where he had left off. He attacked the fcy-
thians and hindoos: he plundered Thrace and Macedonia: yet all that he
gwned was the difperfion of fome fparks among the macedonians, that in time
burft out into a flame, by which the laft king of his name was confumed. The
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326 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIL
greeks he attacked with little fuccefs ; and his fuccefTor Xerxes aflkilcd them
with lefs. Now if we read the catalogue of (hips and men employed in the mi-
litary expeditions of thefe defpots, and furniöied to the mad conqueror by the
whole perfian empire ; if we confider the feas of blood, that flowed in every re-
volt of unjuftly fubjugated countries on the Euphrates, the Nile, the Hindus,
the Halys, and the Araxes, for no other reafon but that what once was called
perfian might retain the name of perfian ftill j who would (bed feminine tears,
fuch as Xerxes wept at the fight of his innocent flock deftined for flaughter, and
not rather tears of blood, tears of indignation, that fuch a fenielels empire, and
fo inimical to mankind, Ihould bear the ftamp of a Cyrus on it's forehead ? Did
any perfian ravager of the World found fuch kingdoms, cities, and edifices, as
he deftroyed,. or endeavoured to deftroy i Babylon, Thebes, Sidon, Greece, and
Athens ? Was any one of them capable of founding fuch ?
It is a rigorous yet beneficent law of fate, that all overgrown power, as well as
all evil, (hould deftroy itfelf. The decline of Perfia commenced with the death
of Cyrus : for though it maintained it's external fplendour for a century, parti-
cularly in confequence of the mcafures taken by Darius, the worm, that gnaws
the vitals of every defpotic empire, lurked within. Cyrus divided his dominions
into viceroyalties j and thefe he kept in due fubjeftion by his own fuperin-
tendance, having eftablifhed a fpeedy communication with them all, and watch-
ing over the whole himfelf. Darius divided the empire, or at leaft his court, ftill
more nicely,and ftood on his elevated ftation as a juft and aäiveruler. But the great
kings, born to the throne of defpotifm, foon became effeminate tyrants. Xerxes,
even on his difgraccful flight from Greece, when far other thoughts (hould have
occupied his mind, began a fcandalous amour at Sardis. Moft of his fucccflbrs
trod in the fame fteps : and thus corruptions, revolts, conipiracies, afiSiflinations,
tmfuccefsful enterprizes, and the like, are almoft the only remarkable occurrences,
that the latter hiftqry of Perfia affords. The minds of the nobles were de-
praved, and thofe of the commonalty participated the corruption. At length
no fovercign was fecure of his life 5 and the throne tottered even under the beft
princes : till Alexander burft into Afia, and in a few battles put an end to the
internally unfcttlcd empire. Unhappily this fell out under a monarch, whodc-
ferved a better fate : he innocently fuffcred for the fins of his forefathers, and
died by the bafeft treacher}\ If any hiftory in the World proclaim in con-
fpicuous charaAers, that licentioufnefs deftroys itfelf, that an unlimited and al-
moft lawlefs power is the moft fearful weaknefs, and that every effeminate go-
vernment conduced by fatraps is the moft infiülible poifon, as well for the prince
as for the people ; it is the hiftory of Perfia.
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Ch A P . IL] MeJes and Perfians. 327
For thefc reafons, there was not a fingle nation, on which the empire of Perfia
had a happy influence : it deftroyed, and did not build up : it compelled the
provinces to pay difgraceful tributes, one to the queen's girdle, another ta her
head-drefs, a third to her necklace ; but it did not bind them together by better
laws and inflitutions. All the fplendour, all the fuperhuman pomp, all the
divine homage, of thefe monarchs, are now no more : their favourites and fatraps
are duft, like themfelves j and the gold they extorted is perhaps equally buried
in the earth. Their very hiftory is a fable : a fable which, coming from the
mouth of a greek and of an afiatic, can fcarcely be reconciled. Even the ancient
languages of Perfia are dead : and the fole monuments of it's magnificence, the
ruins of Perfepolis, remain, with their elegant letters and coloflal figures, hitherto
inexplicable. Fate has taken vengeance on thefe fultans : they are fwept away
from the face of the Earth, as if by the peftilent fimoom, and where their memory
furvives, as among the greeks, it furvives with difgrace, the bafis of more famed
and more to be admired grcatnefs.
Time has favoured us with no mental produdion of the perfians, except the
books of Zoroafter, if they could be proved to be genuine *. As a whole, how-
ever, they agree fo little with many other accounts of the religion of thefe peo-
ple ; they bear, too, fuch evident marks of a mixture with later opinions of the
bramins and chriftians ; that the groundwork alone can be admitted to be ge-
nuine, and this admits of eafy explanation. The ancient perfians, for example,
were, like all rude nations, and particularly mountaineers, worfliippers of the
vital elements of the World : but as they quitted their uncivilized ftate, and
caifed themfelves by their viftories almoft to the higheft pinnacle of luxury ; it
was neceflary, according to the mode of Afia, that they ftiould have a more re-
fined fyftem or ceremonial of religion.
With this they were furniflied by Zoroafter, or Zerduflit, under the aufpices of
Darius Hyftafpes. The ceremonial of the perfian government is evidently the bafis
of this fyftem. As feven princes ftood round the throne of the king, feven (pirits
fland before God, and execute his commands throughout the World. Or-
muzd, the good power of light, had inceflantly to contend againftAhriman, the
prince of darknefs, while every good being aided him in the conflift : a political
idea, which the perfonification of the enemies of Perfia, who appear throughout
the 2^nd-Avefta as the fervants of Ahriman, as evil fpirits, evidently elucidates.
All the moral ordinances of this religion too are poUtic : they relate to purity
• Ztni'Ävißat Ou<urag% it Zwwßrt^ * Zend-Avella, a Work of Zoroa-lcr/ by AnqaetU da
PerroD« Paris, 1771.
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28 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XH.
of body and mind, domeftic harmony, and reciprocity of kind aftions : they re-
commend agriculture, and the planting of ufcful trees; the extermination of
vermin, which appear as an army of evil fpirits in bodily form ; attention to de-
corum ; early and prolific marriages ; the education of children j honouring the
king and his fervants ; love towards the ftatc : and all thefe after the perfian
manner. In (hort, the bafis of this fyftem appears obvioufly as a political reli-
gion, fuch as at the time of Darius could no where have been invented and in-
troduced, except in the perfian empire. Ancient national ideas and opinions,
too, muft neceflarily lie at the bottom of this fuperftition. Hence the adora-
tion of fire, which was undoubtedly an ancient religious worfliip, in the neigh-
bourhood of the fprings of naphtha, near the Cafpian fea. Hence fo many fu-
perftitious praftices for the purification of the body ; and that extreme fear of
demons, which, in almoft every fenfible objedl, forms the bafe of the prayers,
vows, and facred ceremonies of the parfees. All thefe fliow the low degree of
mental cultivation attained by the people, for whofe benefit tliis religion was
invented : and this is by no means inconfiftent with the idea we entertain of
the ancient perfians. Laftly, the fmall part of this fyftem, which refers to ge-
neral notions of nature, is altogether drawn from the dodlrines of the magi,
which it merely refines and exalts in it's own manner. It fubjefts the two prin-
ciples of creation, light and darknefs, to an infinitely fuperiour being, which it
ftyles boundlefs time ; and lets the good every where overcome the evil, and
ultimately fo fwallow it up, that every thing terminates in a holy kingdom of
light. Contemplated on this fide the political religion of Zoroafter is a kind of
philofophical theodicy, fuch as he could offer to the age in which he lived, and
the notions that then prevailed.
In this origin we perceive the caufo, why the religion of Zoroafter could not
poflefs the ftability of the inftitutions of the bramins and lamas. The dcfpotic
empire was eftabliOied long before it ; and thus it was or became only a fort of
monkifli religion, adapted to the political fyftem. Now though Darius fup-
preffed by force the magi, who formed a diftinft body of men in the perfian
empire ; and was eager to introduce this religion, which laid fpiritual fetters
alone on the monarch ; it could never be any thing more than a feft, though it
was the ruling fe^ for a century. Accordingly the worfliip of fire extended
widely : to the left, beyond Medi.i, as far as Cappadocia, where it's temples were
ftanding even in the days of Strabo ; to the right, as far as the Hindus. But as
the perfian empire completely funk bcncatli the fortune of Alexander, this, the
religion of the ftate, alfo found an end. It's feven amftiafpands ferved no
more, and the image of Ormuzd no longer fat on the perfian throne. It's feafon
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Chap. IL] Medes and Perßans. 329
was pad, and it became an empty (hadow, as is the religion of the hindoos out
of their own country. By the greeks it was tolerated ; at length it was perfe-
cuted with unfpeakable rigour by the mohammedans i and in confequence it's
melancholy remnant took flight to a corner of India ; where, like a ruin of an-
tiquity, without end or purpofe, it continues it's ancient faith and fuperftition,
calculated for the perfian empire alone, and has amplified it with the opinions
of the nations among whom it has been thrown by fate, probably without being
confcious of the change. Such an augmentation naturally arifes out of the
courfe of time and events : for every religion, when forced from it's own foil
and fphere, muft necefTarily be influenced by the living world around it. For
the reft, the generality of parfees in India are quiet, peaceable, induftrious peo-
ple, and, confidered as a fociety, furpafs many other religious fefts. They aflift
their poor with great zeal, and expel every irreclaimably immoral perfon from
their community *.
CHAPTER III,
The Hebrews,
The defendants of Heber make a very diminutive figure, when we confider
them immediately after the perfians. I heir country was fmall ; and the part
they afted on the ftage of the World, both in and out of this country, was
infignificant, as they feldom appeared in the charafter of conquerors. Yet
through the will of Fate, and a feries of events, the caufes of which are eafy to
be traced, they have had more influence on other nations, than any people of
Afia: nay in fome degree, through the mediums of chriftianity and moham-
incdanifm, they have been the ground work of enlightening the greater part of
the World.
That the hebrews had written annals of their aftions, at a time in which
moft of the now enlightened nations were totally ignorant of writing, an-
nals which they ventured to carry up to the beginning of the World, diftin-
guiflies them in an eminent manner. But they are ftill more advantageoufly
diftinguifhed by this, that they neither derived their account from liierogly-
phics, nor obfcured it by them ; for it is taken merely from family chronicles,
and inten^'oven with hiftorical tales or poems ; and it's value as hiftory is evi-
dently increafed by this fimplicity of form. This account, too, derives (ingu-
lar weight from it's having been preferved for fome thoufands of years, with al-
• Sec Nicbuhr's Trarelj.
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330 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XII.
moft fuperftitious fcrupulofity, as a divine prerogative of their race, and mtro-
duced by chriftianity into nations, that have examined and queftioned, explained
and ufed it, with a fpirit of freedom unknown to the jews. It is indeed re-
markable, that the accounts of thefe people given by other nations, by Manetho
the egyptiaii in particular, (hould differ fo widely from the hiftory of the hebrews
themfelves : yet, if the latter be impartially confidered, and the fpirit of the
narrative underftood, it certainly deferves more credit, than the flanders of fo-
reign enemies, by whom the jews were defpifed. I fcruple not, therefore, to
take the hiftory of the hebrews, as related by themfelves, for my groundwork :
begging the reader, at the fame time, not abfolutely to rejeft the tales of their
enemies with contempt, but merely to read them with caution.
Thus, according to the moft ancient national ftories of the hebrews, their
progenitor pafled the Euphrates as flieik of a wandering horde, and at laft ar-
rived in Paleftine. Here he found room without oppofition, to purfue the paf-
toral life of his anceftors, and worfliip the god of his fathers after the manner of
his tribe. His pofterity of the third generation were led into Egypt by the
Angular good fortune of one of their family, and there continued to follow the
paftoral life, without mixing with the inhabitants of the country i till, it b not
exadly known in what generation, they were emancipated by their future l^f-
lator from the contempt and oppreffion, which from their charafter of (hep-
herds they muft haveexperienced among thofe people, and conduced into Arabia*
Here the great man, the greateft thefe people had ever had, completed his work ;
and gave them a conftitution, founded on the religion and mode of life of their
&thers it is true, but fo intermingled with egyptian polity, as on the one hand
to raife them from a wandering horde to the ftate of a cultivated nation, yet
on the other to wean them completely from Egypt, fo that they were never after
defirous of treading the fwarthy foil. All the laws of Mofes evince wonderful
refledtion : they extend from the greateft to the fmalleft things, to fway the
(pirit of the nation in every circumftance of life, and to be, as Mofes fircqucntly
repeats^ an everlafting law.
This profound fyftem <rf laws was by no means the produftion of amoment :
the legiflator added to it as circumftances required, and before his death bound
the whole nation to the obfervance of it's future political conftitution« For
forty years he exafted a ftrift obedience to his injunftions : perhaps fo long a
time was confumed by the people in the dcferts of Arabia, that, the firft ftubborn
generation being dead, a people brought up to thefe cuftoms might fettle in the
land of it's fathers properly qualified for their exercife.
But the wi(h of this patriotic man was not fulfilled. The aged Mofes died
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Cha?. IIL] the Hebrews. 331
on the confines of the land he fought ; and when his fucceflbr entered it, he
enjoyed not fufficient authority and refpeÄ, to follow completely the plan of
the lawgiver. The hcbrews purfued not their conquefts fo far as they ought :
they were too precipitate in dividing the land, and fitting down in peace. The
more potent tribes firft took to themfelves the largeft portions, fo that their
weaker brethren could fcarccly find a fettlement, and one of the tribes indeed
was under the neceffity of being divided *. Befide this, many fmaller nations
remained in the country : fo that the ifraelites retained their bittercft heredi-
tary enemies among them, and deftroyed that external and internal compad:
rotundity, which alone could (ecure their prefcribed limits.
From this incomplete eflablilhment, that fcries of infecure times, which
fcarcely ever permitted the encroaching people to be at reft, could not
but enfue. The leaders, that neceffity raifed up, were for the moft part to
be confidered only as fuccefsful partifans : and when at length the people came
to be governed by kings, thefe had fo much to do with their land divided into
tribes, that the third was the laft who reigned over the whole of the disjomted
realm. Five fixths of the kingdom withdrew from his fucceflbr; and how could
two fuch feeble govermnents fubfift in the neighbourhood of powerful enemies,
to whofe attacks they were incefiTantly expofed ? The kingdom of Ifrael had
properly no regular conftitution; and it embraced the worfliip of foreign
gods, in order to preclude any connexion with it's rival, who worfhipped the
legirimate god of it's own land. It was natural, that, according to the lai^age
of thefe people, there fliould be no king in Ifrael that feared the Lord : for, if
there had, his people would have gone up to Jerufalem to worfhip, and his
dominion, returning to the monarchy from which it had been torn, would have
continued no longer in hb hands. Thus they wallowed in the moft wretched
imitation of foreign maimers and cuftoms, till the king of AfTyria came, and
plundered the little realm, as a boy would rob a bird's-neft. The other king-*
dorn, which at leaft had the fupport of the ancient conftitution, eftablifhed by
two potent kings, and a fortified capital, held out fome time longer ; though
only till a more powerful vidtor thought it worth his attention. The fpoiler
Nebuchadnezzar came, and made it's feeble monarchs firft tributaries, and laftly,
after they revolted, flaves. The country was ravaged, the capital was rafed,
and Judah led to Babylon in as difgraceful captivity, as Ifrael had been to Me*
dia. Thus, confidered as a ftate, fcarcely any nation exhibits a more contempti*
ble figure in hiftory than this, the reigns of two of it's kings excepted.
* The tribe of Dan got a corner above and to the left of the land. See the Qtift dtrEhraifchm
ftju, «Spirit of Hebrevtr Poetry/ Vol. II.
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53^ PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XII.
What was the caufe of all this ? In my opinion it is clear, from the courfe
of the narrative itfelf : for it was impoffible, that a nation with fuch adefeftivc
conftitution, both internally and externally, (hould profper in this part of the
World. If David overraa the defert as far as the banks of the Euphrates, and
thereby only ftirred up greater enemies againft his fucceflbr, could he thus give
the nation the (lability it wanted, particularly as the feat of government was
fixed nearly at the fouthern extremity of the kingdom ? His fon introduced
foreign wives, trade, and luxury into the land : into a country, that, like the
united cantons of Switzerland, was capable of fupporting hulbandracn and
fliepherds alone, and aftually had fuch in great multitudes to fupport. Be-
fides, as he carried on his trade for the moft part not by means of his own na-
tion, but of the edomites, whom he had conquered, luxury was pernicious to
his kingdom. For the reft, fince the time of Mofes no fecond legiflator had
been found among thefe people, who was capable of bringing back the ftate,
(hattered from it*s beginning, to a fundamental conftitution fuitable to the
times. The learned clafs foon declined i they who were zealous for the laws
of the land had voices, but not the arm of power j the kings were for the moft
part either effeminate, or creatures of the priefts. Thus two things diametri-
cally oppofite, the refined nomocracy, on which Mofes had fettled the confti-
tution, and a fort of theocratic monarchy, fuch as prevailed among all the na-
tions of this region of dcfpotifm, contended together : and thus the law of
Mofes became a law of bondage to a people, to whom it was intended to have
been a law of political liberty.
In the courfe of time the cafe became altered, but not improved. When
the jews, fet at liberty by Cyrus, returned from bondage, much diminilhed in
number, they had learned many other things, but no genuine political confti-
tution. How, indeed, was the knowledge of fuch a conftitution to have been
acquired in Aftyria or Chaldea ? Their fentiments fludtuated between monar-
chical and facerdotal government : they built a temple, as if this would have
revived the times of Mofes and Solomon : their religion was pharifaical ; their
learning, a minute nibbling at fyllables, and this confined to a fingie book; their
patriotifm, a flavifti attachment to ancient laws mifunderftood, fo as to render
them ridiculous or contemptible to all the neighbouring nations. Their only
hope and confolation refted on fome ancient prophecies, which, equally mif-
conceived, were fuppofed to promife them the illufory fovereignty of the World.
Thus they lived and fuffered for fome centuries, under the greeks of Syria, the
idumeans, and the romans ; till at length, through an animoiity, to which hif-
tory fcarce exhibits a parallel, both the metropolis and the reft of the country
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Chap. III.] Tie Hebrews. 333
were deftroyed, in a manner that grieved the humane conqueror himfelf. On
this they were difperfed through all the territories of the roman empire; and
with the difpcrfion fuch an influence of the jews upon the human race com*
menced, as could hardly have been conceived from a land of fuch fmall extent;
fince thefe people had never diftinguilhed themfelves, in the whole courfe
of their hiftory, as ikilled in war or politics, and ftill lefs as inventors in the arts
and fciences.
But, fliortly before the downfal of the jewifh ftate, chriftianity arofe in the
heart of it, and in the beginning not only retained it's connexion with judaifm,
and confequently admitted the facred writings of the jews, but even refled prin-
cipally on thefe the divine miflion of it's Mefliah. Thus through chriftianity
the books of the jews were introduced to every nation, that embraced the chrif-
tian doftrines ; and according to the manner in which they have been under-
ftood, and the ufe that has been made of them, th^y have benefitted or injured
the whole chriftian World. Their effeft was good, fo far as in them Mofes
made the doftrine of one god, creator of the World, the bafis of all religion
and philofophy, and, in many poems and precepts throughout thefe writings,
fpokc of this god with a dignity and importance, a gratitude and refignation^
of which few examples are to be found in any other human work. We need
not compare thefe books with the Shoo-King of the chinefe, or the Sadder and
Zend- Avefta of the perfians, to perceive the fuperiority of the hebrew fcriptures
over all the other religious writings of antiquity : a comparifon of them with
the much more recent Koran, even though Mohammed availed himfelf of the
doftrincs both of the jews and chriftians, will evince their inconteftible preemi-
nence. It was gratifying alfo to the curiofity of the human mind, to find in
thefe books fuch popular anfwers to the queftions refpeAing the age and crea-
tion of the World, the origin of evil, and the like, as every man could under-
fland and comprehend : to fay nothing of the inftruftive hiftory of the nation,
and the pure morality of feveral books in the colledlion. Be the jewifh com-
putation of time as it may, it afforded a received and general ftandard, and .a
thread with which to conneft the events of univerfal hiftory. Many other
advantages of philology, exegefis, and dialeftic, may be paifed over ; as indeed
they might have been obtained from other works. In all thefe ways the writ-
ings of the hebrews unqueftionably have had an advantageous effeft in the hif-
tory of mankind.
With all thefe advantages, however, it is equally inconteftible, that the
mifconception and abufe of thefe writings have been detrimental to the human
mind in various refpefts ; and the more as they have operated upon it under
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334 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XH.
the claim of being divine. How many abfurd cofmogonies have been framed
from the fimple and fublime hiftory of the creation given by Mofes ! How
many rigid dodtrincs, and unfatisfadtory hypothefes, have been fpun from his
ferpent and apple ! For ages the forty days of the deluge have formed the peg,
on which natural hiftorians have deemed it indifpenfable to hang all the phe-
nomena of the ftrufture of our Earth : and for no lefs a time the hiftorians
of the human race have chained down all the nations of the Earth to the
people of God, and a mifunderftood prophetic vifion of four monarchies.
Thus many hiftories have been mutilated, that they might be explained by a
hebrew name : the whole fyftem of mankind, of the Earth, and of the Sun, has
been narrowed for the purpofe of vindicating the Sun of Jolhua, and a few
years in the duration of the World, the precife determination of which could
never be the obje(5t of thefe writings. How many great men, among whom
even a Newton himfelf is to be reckoned, have the jewifli chronology and the
Apocalypfe robbed of time, that might have been employed in more ufeful
inquiries ! Nay even with regard to morality and political inftitutions, the
writings of the hebrews, by being mifconceived and mifapplied, have impofed
fetters on the minds of thofe nations, by which they have been acknowledged.
For want of making a diftindtion between different periods, and different degrees
of intelleftual cultivation, the intolerant fpirit of the jewifh religion has been
deemed a pattern for chriftians to follow : and paflages of the Old Teftament
have been adduced to juftify the inconfiftent attempt of making chriftianity,
which knows no conftraint, and is merely a moral fyftem, a judaical religion of
the ftate. In like manner it is undeniable, that the ceremonies of the Temple,
and even the language of the hebrew worlhip, have influenced the religious
fervice of all chriftian nations, their hymns, their litanies, and the oratory of
their pulpits ; fo that in many inftances the oriental idiom pervades all their
prayers. The laws of Mofes were intended for that climate, and for a nation
very differently conftituted : their laws and political conftitution, therefore,
adapt themfelves fundamentally to no chriftian people. Thus the choiceft
good, through various mifapplication, verges upon numerous evils. Do not
the facred elements of nature effedl deftruftion ? may not the moft efficacious
xnedicines adt as the moft virulent poifon ?
The nation of the jews itfelf, fince it's difperfion, has done fervice or injury
by it's prefence to the people of the Earth, according as they have ufed it.
In the early ages chriftians were confidered as jews, and defpifed or oppreffed
in common with them ; they rendering themfelves liable to many of the re-
proaches of the jews, pride, fupcrftition, and antipathy to other nations. After-
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Chap, III.] ^e Hebrews. 335
wards, when the chriftlans themfelves became oppreflbrs of the jews, they
altnoft every where gave them an opportunity of engroffing the internal trade
of the country, particularly that in money, by their application as individuals,
and the manner in which they were fpread abroad as a people j fo that the
lefs civilized nations of Europe voluntarily became the flaves of their ufury.
The fyfl-em of exchange was not invented by them, it is true, but they foon
brought it to perfeftion ; their infecurity in mohammedan and chriftian coun»
tries rendering it indifpenfable to them. Thus this widely difFufed republic of
cunning ufurers unqueftionably reftrained many nations of Europe for a long
time from exercifing their own induftry in trade j for thefe thought themfelves
above a jewifli occupation, and were as little inclined to learn this intelligent
and refined fpecies of induftry from the fervile treafurers of the holy roman
world, as the (partans to be taught agriculture by their helotes. Should any
one coUeft a hiftory of the jews from all the countries, into wliich they have
been difperfed, he would exhibit a pifture of mankind, equally remarkable in
a natural and political view : for no people upon Earth have been fpread abroad
like thefe ; no people upon Earth have remained fo diftinguiQiable and aftive
in all climates.
Let no one, however, from this, fuperftitioufly infer a revolution, at fomc
period or other to be wrought by thefe people on all the nations of the Earth.
All that was intended to be wrought has probably been accompliftied \ and
neither in the people themfelves, nor in hiftorical analogy, can we difcover the
leaft foundation of any other. The continuance of the jews is as naturally to
be explained, as that of the bramins, parfees, or gipfies.
No one, in the mean time, will deny to a people, that has been fuch an aftive
inftrument in the hand of Fate, thofe great qualities, which are confpicuous in
it's whole hiftory. Ingenious, adroit, and laborious, the jews have always born
themfelves up under the fevereft oppreffion from other nations ; as for more than
forty years in the deferts of Arabia. They have not wanted warlike courage
a!fo ; as the times of David and the Maccabees fliow, and ftill more the laft and
moft dreadful downfal of their ftate. In their own country they were once a
laborious, induftrious people; who, like the japanefe, contrived by means of ar-
tificial terraces, to cultivate their naked mountains to the fummit, and raifed an
incredible number of inhabitants on a narrow fpace, which was never the firft
in the World for fertility. In the arts, it is true, the jews were always inexpert,
though their country was fituate between Egypt and Phenicia; for even Solomon
was obliged to employ foreign workmen in the conftrudlion of his temple. In like
manner, though they poffeiTed for fome time the ports of the Red Sea, and
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336 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [BookXIL
dwelt fo near the (hores of the Mediterranean, they never became a feafaring
people, in a fituation fo favourable for cngroffing the commerce of the World,
and with a population their country could fcarcely fupport. Like the ^'ptians
they dreaded the fea, and always chofe rather to live among other nations : a
feature of the national charafter, which Mofes powerfully exerted himfelf to
eradicate. In fhort, they were a people fpoiled in their education, becaufe they
never arrived at a maturity of political cultivation on their own foil, and confe-
quently not to any true fentiment of liberty and honour. In fcience, their
moft eminent men have difplayed more fervile punftuality and order, than pro-
duftive freedom of mind; and their fituation hasalmofl. ever denied them the
virtues of a patriot. The people of God, whofe country was once given them
by Heaven itfelf, have been for thoulands of years, nay almoft from their be-
ginning, parafitical plants on the trunks of other nations; a race of cunning
brokers, almoft throughout the whole World j who, in fpite of all oppreffion,
have never been infpired with an ardent pafSon for their own honour, for a ha-
bitation, for a countr}^, of their own.
CHAPTER IV.
Phenicia and Carthage,
The phenicians have rendered the World fervice in a very different manner.
They invented glafs, one of the nobleft implements in the hands of man ; and
the accidental occafion of it's invention at the mouth of the river Bclus is re-
corded in hiftory. Dwelling on the feacoaft, they were addicted to navigation
from time immemorial; for Semiramis procured her fleet to be built by the
phenicians. From fmall veffels they gradually rofe to fliips of confiderable
burden ; they learned to fteer their courfe by the ftars, particularly by the
Greater Bear : and at length, being attacked, they were obliged to learn the art
of naval war. They failed all over the Mediterranean, as far as the ftrait of
Gibraltar; they vifited Britain with their (hips; and it is probable, that from
the Red-Sea they more than once circumnavigated Africa. This they did, not
in the charafter of conquerors, but in that of merchants, and founders of colo-
nies. Lands, which the fea had divided, they connedled together by traffic, by
language, and by the productions of art ; and they ingenioufly devifed every
thing, by which this traffic could be promoted. They learned the art of arith-
metic, to ftamp metals, and to form them into various utenüls and ornaments.
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Chap. IV.] Phenicia and Carthage, 337
They difcovered the purple die, manufaftured fine fidonian linen, procured tin
and lead from Britain, filver from Spain, amber from the Baltic, and gold from
Africa, for which they bartered afiatic produdtions. Thus the whole of the Me-
diterranean formed a part of their kingdom, their colonies were planted up and
down it's coafts, and Tarteffus in Spain was the celebrated emporium of their
commerce between three quarters of the Globe. However extenfive or confined
the knowledge they may have imparted to europeans, the gift of letters, which the
greeks acquired from them, was at leaft equal in value to every thing befides.
But how came this people thus meritorioufly to diftinguifli itfelf in the
arts ? Was it perchance a fortunate race of the primeval world, advantageoufly
endowed by Nature in mental and corporal faculties ? By no means. According
to all the accounts we have of the phenicians, they were dwellers in caves, defpifed,
and perhaps driven from their homes, the troglodytes or gipfies of this countr}^
We firft find them on the (hores of the Red-Sea, the barren foil of which pro-
bably afforded them but meagre nutriment : and when they had migrated to the
cooft of the Mediterranean, they long retained their barbarous manners, their
inhuman religion, and even their habitations among the rocks of Canaan. Every
one knows the defcription given of the ancient inhabitants of Canaan ; and that it
is not exaggerated, appears as well from the relics of barbarous fuperftition, which
for a long time remained even in Carthage itfelf, as fr )in the fimilar pi Aure of the
arabian troglodytes in Job *. The manners of th^^ phenician feamen, too, were
not efteemed by foreign nations : they were pilfering, piratical, fenfual, and
treacherous "fi fo that punic faith and honefty became a proverbial ftigma.
Ncceffity, and circumftances, are for the moft part the inftruments, that
make men every thing. In the deferts near the Red Sea, where the phenicians
lived partly it may be prefumed on fifh, hunger introduced them to an ac-
quaintance with the watery element ; fo that, when they reached the ihores of
the Mediterranean, they were ahready prepared to launch out on a more exten-
five fea. What has formed the dutch, what moft other featuring 4iations ? Ne-
ceffity, fituation, and accident %, All the nations of the race of Shem, believing
they had an exclufive claim to the whole of Afia, hated and defpifed the phe-
nicians. Thus the defcendants of Ham, as intruding foreigners, were confined
to the fea and it's fterile (hores. Now that the phenicians Ihould find the
• Job XXX, 3—8. Handtls, * Hiftory of the Eaft Indian Trade/
f See the accoont which Eamaeas gives of p. 15, 16. Poverty and oppreiEon have beea
the phenicians, Odyfil xv, 414, &c. F. commonly the caofes, that produced moft com-
X Eichhorn has ihown this in tlie cafe rf An- xnercial nations, as the Venetians, the malays^and
gria's people alfo : fee Ge/cbUbte da Oßindifcbtn ethers, teftify.
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338 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XII.
Mediterranean abounding with ports and iflands, fo that they gradually pro-
ceeded from land to land, from coaft to coaft, and at length beyond the Pillars
of Hercules, and were enabled to gather fuch a rich harveft by their trade with
the uncultivated nations of Europe, arofe from the circumftances of the cafe,
from the fortunate fituation created for them by Nature herfelf. As in the
primeval period the bafin of the Mediterranean fea was fcooped out between
the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Appennines, and Atlas, and it's iflands and points
of land gradually rofe to view, forming harbours and habitable lands, the way
to the civilization of Europe was pointed out by eternal deftiny. Had the
three quarters of our hemifphere been united in one, Europe would now
probably have been as little civilized as Tatary, or the intcriour of Africa : at
leaft it would have been much more flowly civilized, and in a different way.
To the Mediterranean alone our Earth is indebted for a PhcniciaUnd a Greece,
an Etniria and a Rome, a Spain and a Carthage -, and through the former
four of thefe did Europe attain the degree of civilization it now enjoys.
The fituation of Phenicia on the land fide was equally happy. Behind it
lay the whole of the fine country of Afia, with it's wares and inventions, with
an inland trade long before eftablifhed. Accordingly it enjoyed the advantages
not only of foreign induftry, but of the riches, with which Nature had endowed
this quarter of the Globe, and the long labours of antiquity. The people of
Europe gave the name of phenician to letters, which the phenicians brought
into Europe, but of which it is prd>able they were not the inventors. So it
is to be prefumed the egyptians, babylonians, and hindoos purfued the art of
weaving befoie the fidonians ; as it is a wellknown mode of (peaking, both in
ancient and modern times, to name wares not fi-om the place where they are
manufadured, but from the place that trades in them. The ikill of the phe-
nicians in aichitefture may be known from Solomon's temple -, which certainly
was not to be compared with any one in Egypt, as in it two wretched columns
w«re looked ugon as wonders. Their only architeAural remains are thofe vail
caverns in Phenicia and Canaan, which evince both their troglodytic tafte
and defcent. The people, of egyptian race, undoubtedly rejoiced, to find
in this r^ion mountains, in which they could form their habitations and graves,
ftorehoufes and temples. The caves ftill remain; but their contents have
vanifhed. The archives and colledtions of books, alfo, which the pheai-
ctans poflefiTed in the times of their fplendour, are all deftroyed ; and the greeks,
by whom their hiftory was written, no longer exift.
Now if we compare thefe induftrious, flouriftiing commercial towns, with
the conquering ftates on the Euphrates, the Tigris, and mount Caucafus, no
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Chap. IV.] Phmicia and Carthage. 339
one will heCtate, to which to give the preference, in relpeft to the hiftory of
mankind. The conquerors conquered for thcmfelves : the commercial nations
fervcd themfelves and others. They rendered the wealth, induftry, and fcience
of a certain part of the World common to all ; and thus could not avoid
promoting humanity, perhaps without the defign. No conqueror, there-
fore, dlfturbs the courfc of nature fo much, as he who deftroys flourifliing
commercial towns : for the ruin of thefc generally occafions the decline of the
induftry and manufafturcs of whole countries and regions, unlcfs fomc neigh-
bouring place quickly fucceed them. In this the coaft of Phenicia was happy :
it's fituation renders it indifpenfable to the trade of Afia. When Nebuchad-
nezzar deprefled Sidon, Tyre fprang up : when the macedonian conqueror
deftroyed Tyre, AIe3candria flouriQied : but commerce never completely
deferted this region. Carthage, too, was benefitted by the deftruftion of the
ancient wealthy Tyre, but not with confequences fo important to Europe, as
thofe of the more early phenician commerce \ for the time was gone by.
The internal conftitution of the phenicians has been generally confidered as
the firft tranfition from the monarchies of Afia to a fort of republic, which
commerce requires. The defpotic power of the kings in their ftates was weak-
ened, fo that they never attempted conquefts. Tyre was a long time ruled
by fuffetes ; and this form of government obtsdned a more firm eftablifliment
in Carthage : thus thefe two ftates are the firft precedents of great commercial
republics in hiftory, and their colonies are the firft examples of a more ufeful
and refined dominion, than thofe which a Nebuchadnezzar and a Cambyies
eftabliOied. This was a great ftep in the civilization of mankind. Thus com-
merce awakened induftry : the fea reprefied or fet bounds to the conqueror,
and gradually changed him, againft his will, fi'om a fubjugating robber to a
peaceful negotiator. Mutual wants, and particularly the more feeble power
of a ftranger on a diftant (hore, g^ve birth to the firft more equitable inter-
courfe between nations. How do the ancient phenicians put to (hame the
europeans for their fenfelefs conduft, when, in fo much later ages, and with fo
much more ikill in the arts, they difcovered the two Indies ! Thefe made Haves,
preached the crofs, and exterminated the natives : thofe, in the proper fenfe of
the term, conquered nothing : they planted colonies, they built towns, and
roufed the induftry of the nations, which, after all the deceptions of the
phenicians, learned at length to know and profit by their own treafures. Will
any part of the Globe be indebted to Europe rich in arts, fo much as Greece
was indebted to the lefs cultivated phenicians ?
The influence of Carthage on the nations of Europe was far from being fo im-
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340 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIL
portant as that of Phcnicia : owing affurcdly to the change of time, fituation,
and the ftatc of things. As a colony fix)m Tyre, it was not without difficulty,
that it eftablifhed itfelf on the diftant (bore of Africa : and being obliged to
fight for the extenfion of it's boundar)', it gradually imbibed a luft of conqueft.
Hence it acquired a more brilliant and artfully contrived form than the parent
ftate ; but more advants^ous in it*s confequences, neither to the republic, nor
to mankind. Carthage was a city, not a nation : fo that it was incapable of
difiufing civilization and a fpirit of patriotifm over any extent of country. The
territory it acquired in Africa, and in which, at the commencement of the third
punic war, it reckoned, according to Strabo, three hundred towns, contained
fubjefts, over whom the conquerors ruled as lords, but no fellow-citizens of the
fovercign ftate. This indeed the nearly uncivilized africans never ftrove to be-
come : for even in their wars againft Carthage they appeared either as revolted
ilaves, or hired foldiers. Thus the interioiu* parts of Africa derived very little
civilization from Carthage, as the objeft of this city, a few of the families of which
had extended their fway beyond it*s walls, was not to propagate himianity, but to
collect treafure. The crude fuperftition, that prevailed among the Carthaginians
to the lateft times; the barbarous manner, in which they tyrannically put to
death their unfuccefsful generals, even when no blame could be imputed to
them; and their general conduä in foreign countries ; evince the cruelty and
avarice of this ariftocratic ftate, which fought nothing but gam, and african
fcrvility.
The fituation and conftitution of Carthage are fufEcient to account for this
barbarity. Inftead of commercial fettlements after the phenician manner,
which the Carthaginians deemed too infecure, they erefted fortrefles ; and at a
time when the fUte of the Worid was fo much improved, they attempted to
fecure the fovereignty of the coafts, as if every place were Africa. But being
obliged to employ for this purpofe mercenaries, or enilaved barbarians ; and
fuch a proceeding involving them in quarrels with people, who for the moft
part refufed to be treated any longer as favages ; thefe quarrels could produce
nothing but bloodfhed, and bitter enmity. The fiiiitful Sicily, Syracufe in
particular, was often aflaulted by them : and at firft very unjuftly, as it was
merely in confcquence of a treaty with Xerxes. They went againft a grecian
people as the barbarous auxiliaries of a barbarian, and fliowed themfelvcs worthy
of the part. Selinus, Himera, and Agrigentum, Saguntum in Spain, and many
rich provmces in Italy, were plundered or deftroycd by them. Nay more
blood was flied on the beautiful plains of Sicily alone, than all the trade of
Carthage could compenfate. Much as Ariftotle praifes the conftitution of
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Chap. IV.] Phmida and Carthage. 34t
thb republic in a political view, as little merit has it in the hiftory of the hu«
man race : for in it a few fitmilies of the city, confiding of barbarous wealthy
merchants, employed the arms of mercenaries to contend for the monopoly of
their gain, and appropriate to themfclvcs the fovereignty of every country, by
which this gain could be promoted. Such a fyftem has in it nothing amiable :
and therefore, however unjuft moil of the wars of the romans againft Carthage
were, and much as the names of Afdrubal, Hamilcar, and Hannibal, demand
our reverence, we (ball hardly become Carthaginians, when we contemplate
the internal ftate of the mercantile republic, which thefe heroes ierved. From
it they experienced fufEcient trouble, and were frequently rewarded with the
bhckeft ingratitude : for his country would even have delivered up Hannibal
himfelf to the romans, to (ave a few poimds weight of gold, had he not with"
drawn himfelf by flight from this punic reward for his fervices.
Far be it from me, to rob one noble Carthaginian of the leaft of his merits :
for even Carthage, though erefked on the lowed ground of avaricious conqueil,
has produced great minds, and nourißied a multitude of arts. Of warriours the
iamily of Barcha in particular will be immortal ; the flame of whofe ambition
mounted the higher, the more the jealoufy of Hanno drove to quench it. But
for the mod part even in the heroic fpirit of the Carthaginians a certain hardi-
nefs b obfervable ; whence a Gelo, a Timoleon, a Scipio, appear, on comparifon,
as free men compared to flaves. Thus barbarous was the heroifm of thofe bro-
thers, who fufi'ered themfelves to be buried alive, to preferve an unjud boun-
dary to their country: and in more urgent cafes, as when Carths^e itfelf was
threatened, their valour in general afiumed the appearance of favage defpera-
tion. Yet it is not to be denied, that Hannibal in particular was the tutor of
it*s hereditary enemies, the romans, who from him learned to conquer the
World, in the more refined parts of the art of war. In like manner all the arts,
that were in any way fubfervient to commerce, nayal architefture, maritime
war, or the acquifition of wealth, flourifhed in Carthage : though the Cartha-
ginians themfelves were (bon conquered at (ea by the romans. In the fertile
(oil of Afirica agriculture was of all arts that, which tended mod to promote
their trade; and into this, as a rich fource of gain, the Carthaginians introduced
many improvements. But unfortunately the barbarous date of the romans oc-
cafioned the dedru&ion of all the books of the Carthaginians, as well as of their
town : we know nothing of the nation, but from it's enemies, and a few ruins,
which fcarcely enable us to guefs at the feat of the anciently famed midrefs of
the fea. It is to be lamented, that the principal figure Carthage makes in
bidory is on occafion of her conteds with Rome: this wolf, that was afterwards
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34» PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIL
to ravage the World» was ürft to exercife her powers againft an african jackal
till lie fell beneath her jaws.
CHAPTER V.
77;^ Egyptians.
We now come to a country, which, on account of it's antiquity, it*s arts, and
it's political inftitutions, ftands like an enigma of the primeval World, and has
copioufly excrcifed the conjeftural Ikill of the mquirer. This is Egypt. The
moft authentic information we have refpefting it is derived from it's antiqui-
ties i thofe vaft pyramids, obeliiks, and catacombs ; thofe ruins of canals, cities,
columns, and temples; ^hich, with their hieroglyphics, are ftill the aftenifli-
ment of travellers, as they were the wonder of the ancient World. What an
immenfe population, what arts and government, but more efpecially what a An-
gular way of thinking, muft have been requifite, to excavate thcfe rocks, or pile
them upon one another; not only to delineate and carve ftatues of animals»
but to inter them as facred ; to form a wildernefs of rocks as an abode for the
dead ; and to eternize in ftone the fpirit of an egyptian priefthood in ibch mur*
tifarious ways I There (land, there lie, all thofe relics, which, like a iacred
Iphinz, like a grand problem, demand an explanation.
Part of thefe works, of obvious utility, or indifpenfable to the country, ex-
plain themfelves. Such are the aftoniihing canals, dikes, and catacombs. The
canals ferved to convey the Nile to the remoteft parts of Egypt, which now,
from their ruin, are become filent deferts. The dikes enabled cities to eftabliQi
themfelves in the fertile valley, which the Nile overflows,, and which, truly the
heart of Egypt, feeds the whole land; The catacombs, too, fetting afide the
religious notions which the egyptians connected with them, unqueftionably
contributed to the healthineis of the air, and prevented thofe difeafes, which ait
the common pefts of hot and humid climates. But to what purpofe the enor-
mity of thefe tombs ? whence, and why, the labyrinth, the obelifks, the pyra-
mids ? whence the marvellous tafte, on which the fphinxes and coloflufes have
fo laboriouily conferred immortality ? Are the egyptians the primitive nation,
fprung ftom the mud of the Nile, to branch over all the World ? or, if they be
not indigenous, what circumftances« what motives, have rendered them fo to-
tally different from all the people that dwell around ?
In my opinion the natural hiflory of tlie country is fufficient to (how, that
the egyptians are no primitive indigenous nation ; for not only ancient tradi-
tion, but every rational geogony expreßly fays, that Upper Egypt was the
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Chap. V.J The EgyptJüus. 343
earlier peopled, and that the lower country was in reality gained from the mud o£
the Nile by the iküful induftry of man. Ancient Egypt, therefore, was on the
mountains of the Thebaid; where too was the refidenceof it's ancient kings: for
had the land been peopled by the way of Suez, it is inconceivable, why the firft
kings of Egypt Ihould have chofen the barren Thebaid for their abode. If, on
the other hand, we follow the population of Eg\'pt, as it lies before our eyes;
in it we (hall likewife find the caufe, why it's inhabitants became fuch a An-
gular and diftinguiflied people, even from their cultivation. They were no
amiable circafllans, but, in all probability, a people of the fouth of Afia,
who came weft wards acrofs the Red -Sea, or perhaps farther off, and gradually
fpread from Ethiopia over Upper Egypt. The land here being bounded as it
were by the inundations and marfhes of the Nile, is it to be wondered, that
they began to conftrudt their habitations as troglodytes in the rocks, and after*
wards gradually gained the whole of Egypt by their induftry, improving them*
fclves as they improved the land ? The account Diodorus gives of their fouthern
defcent, though intermingled with various fables of his Ethiopia, is not only
probable in the higheft degree, but the fole key to an explanation of this people,
and it's fingular agreement with fome diftant nations in the eaft of Afia.
As I could pürfue this hypothefis here but very imperfeftly, it muft be de-
ferred to another place, availing myfelf only of fome of it's evident confequences,
with regard to the figure made by this people in the hiftory of mankind. The
egyptians were a quiet, induftrious, wellmeaning people, as their political con-
ftitution, their arts, and their religion, coUcöively demonftrate. No temple,
no column of Egypt, has a gay, airy, grecian appearance : of this defign of art
they had no idea, it never was their aim. The mummies (how, that the figure
of the egyptians was by no means beautiful; and as the human form appeared
to them, fuch would neceffarily be their imitations of it. Wrapped up in their
own land, as In their own rel^on and conftitution, they had an averfion to
foreigners : and as, conformably to their charaäer, fidelity and precifion were
their principal objefts in the imitative arts ; as their (kill was altogether mecha-
nical, and indeed in it's application to religious purpofes was confined to a par-
ticular tribe, while at the (ame time it turned chiefly on religious conceptions ;
no deviations toward ideal beauty, which without a natural prototype is a
mere phantom *, were in the leaft to be expefted in this country -f . In recom-
penfe they turned their attention fo much the more to folidity, durability, and
* Of this b another pltce. dofa ; bat chiefly that of the palace Rondanini
t That African forms may coalesce with at Rome. F.
Ideal Beauty, is proved by every head of Me-
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344 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIL
gigantic magnitude; or to finifliing with the utmoft induftry of art. In that
rocky land, their ideas of temples went taken from vaft caverns : hence in their
architefture they were fond of majeftic immenfity. Their mummies gave the
hint of their ftatues : whence their legs were naturally joined, and their arms
clofed to the body; a pofture of itfelf tending to durability. To fupport ca-
vities, and feparate tombs, pillars were formed : and as the egyptians derived
their architefture from the vaults of rocks, and underftood not our mode of
erefting arches, the pillar, frequently gigantic, was indifpenfable. The de-
ferts, by which they were furrounded, the regions of the dead, which from reli-
gious notions floated in their minds, alfo moulded their ftatues to mummies,
wherein not aftion, but eternal reft, was the character, on which their art
fixed.
The pyramids and obeliiks of the egyptians appear to me lefe calculated to
excit« wonder. Pyramids have been erefted on graves in all parts of the World,
even in Otaheite; not fo much as emblems of the immortality of the foul, as
tokens of a lafting remembrance after death. Their origin on thefe graves
may be traced to thofe rude heaps of ftone, which were formed as memorials
by feveral nations in very remote antiquity. The rude heap of ftones aflumed
the form of a pyramid, that it might acquire greater ftability. When art ap-
plied itfelf to this general cuftom, as no occafion of a memorial is fo dear to
the human mind as the interment of the revered dead, the heap of ftones, at
firft perhaps defigned to prote A the corpfe from the fengs of wild beafts, was
naturally transformed into a pyramid, or column, ereAed with more or lefs
ikill. Now that the egyptians ftiould excel other nations in thefe ftruAures,
arofe from the fame caufe as the durable architefture of their temples and ca-
tacombs : namely, they poflefled ftone fufficient for thefe monuments, as the
greater part of Egypt is properly one rock ; and they had hands enough to
build them, as, in their fertile and populous country, the Nile manures the foil,
and agriculture demands little labour. Befides, the ancient egyptians lived with
great temperance : thoufands of men, who laboured for centuries like flaves at
thefe memorials, were fo eafily maintained, that it depended merely on the will
of a kmg, to ereft inconceivable mafles of this kind. The lives of individuals
were eftimated differently then, when their names were reckoned only in tribes
and dtfhi&s, than they are now. The ufelefs labour of numbers was then
more eafily facrificed to the will of a monardi, who was defirous of fecuring to
himfelf immortality by fuch a heap of ftones, and retaining the departed foul
in an embalmed corj^e, conformably to his religious notions; till this, like
many other ufelefs arts, became in time an objefl: of emulation. One king
inäitated another, or fought to exceed him^ while the eafy people confumed
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Chap, v.] Tie Egyptiant. 345
their days in the ftrufture of thcfc monuments. Thus probably arofe the
pyramids and obcliiks of Egypt : they were built only in the rcmoteft times ;
for later ages» and nations, employed in more ufeful works, ceafe to ered:
pyramids. Thus, far firom being tokens of the happincfs and enlightened
minds of the ancient egyptians, the pyramids are incontrovertible teftimo-
nies of the fuperftition and thoughtleflhefs, both of the poor by whom they
were built, and of the ambitious by whom their ereftion was commanded.
Seclrets are in vain fought within the pyramids, or concealed wifdom from the
obelifks : for if the hieroglyphics of the latter could be deciphered, what is it
poffible we fliould read in them, except a chronicle of forgotten events, or a
fymbolic apotheofis of their builders ? And then, what are thefe mafles to a
mountain of Nature's ereftion ?
Befides, inftead of inferring profoimd wifdom from the hieroglyphics of the
egyptians, they rather demonftrate the reverfe. Hieroglyphics are the firft
rude-infantile eflay of the human mind, when feeking charafters to denote it*s
thoughts : the rudeft favages of America had hieroglyphics fufficient to anfwer
their occafions j fw could not the mexicans convey information of the moft
tmheard of events, of the arrival of the fpaniards for inftance, in hieroglyphics ?
But what poverty of ideas, what a ftagnation of the mind, do the egyptians
difplay, in fo long retaining this imperfeft mode of writing, and continuing to
paint it for centuries with immenfe trouble on rocks and walls ! How confined
muft have been the knowledge of a nation, and of it's numerous learned order, who
could content themfelves for fome thoufands of years with thefe birds and ftrokes !
For their fecond Hermes, who invented letters, lived very late j and he was no
cgyptian. The alphabetical writing on the mummies confifts wholly of the
foreign phenician letters, intermingled with hieroglyphical charaftcrs, and there-
fore in all probability learned from the phenician traders. The chinefe them*
felves have advanced farther than the egyptians, and from fimilar hieroglyphics
have invented aftual notations of thought, to which thefe, as it appears, never
attained. Is it to be wondered, then, that a nation fo poor in writing, and
yet not without capacity, fliould have been eminent in mechanic arts ? Their
road to fcience was obftruded by hieroglyphics, and thus their attention was
the more turned towards objefts of fenfe. The fertile valley of the Nile ren-
<lered their agriculture eafy : they learned to mcafurc and calculate thofe perio-
dical inundations, on which their welfare depended. A ]>eople, whofe life and
comforts were connefted with one fingle natural change, which, annually
recurring, formed an eternal national calendar, muft ultimately become expert
in the meafure of the year and the feafons.
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346 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXII.
Thus all the acquaintance with nature and the heavens, for which this ancient
people is £inied, was the natural offspring of the country and climate. Eaclofed
between mountains, fcas, and dcferts ; in a narrow fertile valley, where every
thing depended on one natural phenomenon, and every thing rccaUed that phe-
nomenon to the mind ; where the feafons of the year, and the produce of the
harveft, winds and difeafes, infefts and birds, were governed by one and the
fame revolution, the overflowing of the Nile : could the grave egyptian, and
his numerous order of idle priefts, fail ultimately to collefl: a fort of hiftory of
nature and the heavens ? From all quarters of the World it is known, that
confined fenfual nations have the moil copious pmdtical knowledge of their
country, though not learned from books. The hieroglyphics of the egyptians
were rather injurious than beneficial to fcience. They converted the lively
obfervation into an obfcure and dead image, which afiuredly could not ad-
vance, but retarded the progrefs of the underftanding. It has been much dis-
puted, whether the hieroglyphics concealed faccrdotal myfleries. To me it
appears, that every hieroglyphic from it's nature contained a fecrec i and a feries
of them, preferved exclufivcly by a particular body of men, mull neceflarily
have remained a myftery to the many, even fuppofing they were prefented to
them at every turn. They could not be initiated into the ftudy of them, for
this was not their bufinefs ; and of themfelves they could not difcover their
meaning. Hence the neceflary want of an extenfive diffufion of knowledge in
every land, in every body of men, poflTeflTed of hieroglyphic wifdom, as it is
called, whether taught by priefts or laymen. Every one was not capable of deci-
phering it's fymbols, and what is not eafy to be learned without a tutor muft,
from it's very nature, be kept as a myftery. Thus every hieroglyph ical fcience
of modern times is a ridiculous obftacle to a free diffufion of knowledge ; while
in ancient times hieroglyphics were no more than the moft imperfedt mode of
writing. It would be abfurd, to expeft a man of himfelf to learn to underftand
what might be explained iri a thoufand different ways ; and to ftudy arbitrary
fymbols, as if they were neceflarily permanent things, would be endlefs labour.
Hence Egypt has always remained a child in knowledge, becaufe it always ex»
preffed it's knowledge as a child, and it's inutile ideas are probably for ever
loft to us.
Thus we can do little more than guefs at the rank attained by the egyptian»
in religion and politics^ while we have been able to mark that, which many other
nations of high antiquity have reached, and can ftill in ibme meafure obferve,
what the people in the eaft of Afia have attained. Indeed, could it be rendered
probable, that much of the knowledge of the ^yptians was not eafy to have
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Chap, v.] "The Egyptians. 34.7
been difcovered in their country ; but that they merely continued to exercifc
it after received rules and premifes, and adapted it to their own land ; their
infant ftate in all thefc fciences would be much more obvious. Hence pro-
bably their long regifter of kings, and of the ages of the World : hence their
ambiguous hiftories of Ofiris, Ifis, Horus, Typhon, and the reft : hence a great
number of their religious fables. Their principal religious. notions were com-
njon to feveral people of Upper Afia j only they were here clothed in hiero-
glyphics, adapted to the natural hiftory of the country, and the charafter of
the people. The leading features of their political conftitution were familiar
to other nations in a fimilar ftagc of cultivation ; but here they were more
finißied, and employed in their own manner, by a people enclofed in the beau-
tiful valley of the Nile *. Egypt would not eafily have attained the high repu-
tation it enjoys for wifdom, but for it's lefs remote fituation, the ruins of it's
antiquities, and above all the tales of the greeks.
This very fituation likewife (hows the rank it occupies among the nations.
Few have (prung from it, or been civilized by it : of the former I know only
the phenicians ; of the latter, the jews and greeks. How far it's influence has
extended into the interiour of Africa we ar^ ignorant. Poor egyptians ! how
are they changed ! Once laborious, and endued with patient induftry, a thou-
fand years of defpair have reduced them to indolence and wretchednefs. At
tlie nod of a pharaoh, they fpun and wove, dug in the mountains and ndfed
flones, purfued the arts and cultivated the land. Patiently they fuffered them-
ielves to be (liut up from the reft of the World, and divided into bands for the
purpofe of labour; they were prolific, and brought up their children with toil ;
fliunned foreigners, and enjoyed their own fecluded country. When once
their land was laid open, or rather when Cambyfes (howed the way to it, it was
for ages a prey to nation after nation. Perfians and greeks, romans, byzantines»
arabs, fatimites, curdes, mamalukes, and turks, annoyed it one after the other i
and it's fine climate ftill remains a melancholy theatre of arabian depredations
and turkifli barbarity «f.
* The eonleaarei on thu rubjefl omft be f ^^^ ^^^ of every reader will add a aott
defened to anotber place. to thi» period. F«
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348 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XII.
CHAPTER Vic
Farther Hints toward a Philofopky of the Htfiory of Man.
Having now gon^over a coniiderable extent of human events and infatii«
tions, from the Euphrates to the Nile, from Perfepolis to Carthage^ let us fit
down, and take a retrofpedivc view of our journey.
What IS the principal law, that we have obfervcd in all the great occur-
rences of hiftory ? In my opinion it is this : that every where on our Earth
whatever could be has teen, according to the Jiiuation and wants of the place^
the circumßances andoccafions of the times, and the native or generated charaBer
of the people. Admit aftive human powers, in a determuiate relation to the
age, and to their place on the Earth, and all the viciflitudes in the hiftory of
man will enfue. Here kingdoms and ftates cryftallize into (hape : there they
diflblve, and aflume other forms. Here firam a wandering horde rifes a Ba-
bylon : there from the ftraitened inhabitants of a coaft Iprings up a Tyre :
here, in Africa, an Egypt is formed : there, in the deferts of Arabia, a jewifli
date : and all thefe in one part of the World, all in the neighbourhood of
each other. Time, place, and national character alone, in Ihort the gene-
ral cooperation of adive powers in their moft determinate individuality, go-
vern all the events that happen among mankind, as well as alt the occur-
rences in nature. Let us place this predominant law of the creation in a fuit-
able light.
I. AElive human powers are thefprings of human hißory: and as man originates
from and in one race, his figure, education, and mode of thinking, are thus ge-
netic. Hence that ftriking national charafter, which, deeply imprinted on the
moft ancient people, is unequivocally difplayed in all their operations on the
Earth. As a mineral water derives it's component parts, it*s operative powers,
and it*s tafte, from the foil through which it flows ; fo the ancient charaAer of
nations arofe from the family features, the climate, the way of life and education,
the early aftions and employments, that were peculiar to them. The manners
of the fathers took deep root, and became the internal prototype of the race.
The mode of thinking of the jews, which is beft known to us from their writings
and a&ions, may ferve as an example : in the land of their fathers, and in the
midft of other nations, they remain as they were j and even when mixed with
other people they may be diftinguifhed for fome generations downward. It was,
and it is the fame with all the nations of antiquity, egyptians, chinefe, arabs.
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Chap. VI.] Retrofpe^ive Vittv of Hither Afia. 349
bindoos, &c. The more fccluded they lived, nay frequently the more they were
opprefied, the more their charader was confirmed : fo that, if every one of thefe
nations had remained in it's place, the Earth might have been confidered as a
garden, where in one fpot one human national plant, in another, another, bloomed
in it's proper figure and nature; where in this fpot one fpecies of animal, in that,
another, purfued it's courfe, according to it's inftinfts and charadker.
But as men are not firmly rooted plants, the calamities of famine, earthquakes,
war, and the like, muft in time remove them from their place to fome other
more or lefs different. And though they might adhere to the manners of their
fbre£ithers with an obflinacy almoft equal to the inftindt of the brute, and even
apply to their new mountains, rivers, towns, and eftablifhments, the names of
their primitive land ; it would be impoflible for them, to remain eternally the
fame in every refpeft, under any confiderable alteration of foil and climate.
Here the tranfplanted people would confbruft a wafp's neft, or anthill, after their
own fafhion. The ftyle would be a compound anfing from the ideas imbibed
m their original country, and thofe infpired by the new : and this may com-
monly be called the youthful bloom of the nation. Thus did the phenicians,
when they retired from the Red-Sea to the fhores of the Mediterranean : thus
Mofes endeavoured to form the ifraelites : and fo has it been with feveral afiatic
nations; for almoil every people upon Earth has migrated at leaft once, fooner
or later, to a greater diflance, or a lefs. It may readily be fuppofed, that iti this
much depended on the time when the migration took place, the circum-
fiances by which it was occafioned, the length of the way, the previous flate of
civilization of the people, the reception they met with in their new country, and
the like. Thus even in unmixed nations the computations of hiflory are fo per-
plexed, from geographical and political caufes, that it requires a mind wholly
ftcc from hypothefis to trace the clew. This clew is mofl eafily lofl by one,
■with whom a particular race of the people is a favourite, and who defpifes every
thing, in which this race has no concern. The hiftorian of mankind muft fee with ^ \
eyes as impartial as thofe of the creator of the human race, or the genius of the — '*
Earth, and judge altogether uninfluenced by the paifions. To the naturalifl,
y9\iO would acquire a juft knowledge and arrangement of all his clafles, the
xofe and the thiftle, the polecat, the iloth, and the elephant, are equally dear ;
lie examines that mofl, from which mofl is to be learned. Now Nature has
given the whole Earth to mankind, her children ; and allowed every thing, that
place, time, and power would permit, to fpring up thereon. Every thing
that can exifl, exifls ; every thing that is poffible to be produced, will be
produced ; if not to day, yet to morrow. Nature's year is long : the bloflbma
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350 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXII.
of her plants are as various as the plants thcmfclves, and the elements by
which they are nourilhed. In Hindoftan, Egypt, and China, in Canaan, Greece,
Rome, and Carthage, took place, what would have occurred no where elfe, and
at no other period. The law of neccflity and convenience, compofed of power,
time, and place, every where produces different fruits.
2. If the complexion of a kingdom thus depend principally on the time and
place in which it arofe^ the parts that compofed ity and the external circumßances by
which it was JtirrQundedy we perceive the chief part of it's fate fpring alfo from
thefe. A monarchy framed by wandering tribes, whofe political fyftem is a con-
tinuation of their former mode of life, will fcarcely be of long duration : it ra-
vages, and fubjugates, till at lad itfelf is deftroyed : the capture of the metro-
polis, or frequently the death of a king alone, is fufficient to drop the curtain on
the predatory fcene. Thus it was with Babylon and Nineveh, with Ecbatana
and Perfepolis, and lb it is with Perfia ftill. The empire of the great moguls ia
Hindoftan is nearly at an end : and that of the turks will not be lafting, if they
continue cfaaldeans, that is foreign conquerors, and do not eftablifh their govern«
ment on a more moral foundation. Though the tree lift it's head to the ikies,
and overfhadow whole quarters of the Globe, if it be not rooted in the earth, a
fingle blaft of wind may overturn it. It may fall through the underminiiig oft
tFeacherous (lave, or by the axe of a daring fatr^. Both the ancient and mo-
dem hiftories of Afia are filled with thefe revolutions ; and thus the philofophy
of ftates finds little to learn in them. Defpots are hurled from the throne, and
defpots exalted to it again : the kingdom is annexed to the perfon of the mo-
narch, to his tent, to his crown : he who has thefe in his ^power is the new &•
ther of the people, that is the leader of an overbearing band of robbers. A Ne-
buchadnezzar was terrible to the whole of Hither Alia, and under his fecond
fuccefTor his imftable throne lay proftrate in the duft. Three vi(ftories of an
Alexander completely put an end to the vaft perfian monarchy.
It is not fo with ftates, which« fpringing up from a root, reft on themfclves :
they may be fubdued, but the nation remains. Thus it is with China : we well
know how much labour it coft it's conquerors, to introduce there a fimple
cuftom, the mungal mode of cutting the hair. Thus it is with the bramins and
jews, whofe ceremonial fyftems will eternally (eparate them from all the nations
upon Earth« Thus Egypt long withftood any intermixture with other nations:
and how difEcult was it to extirpate the phefticians, merely becaufe they were a
people rooted in this fpot ! Had Cyrus fucceeded in founding an empire like
thofe of Tao, Crifbna, and Mofes, it would ftill furvive, though mutilated, in
Jill it's members.
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Ch A P . VL] RetrofpeBive View of Hither Afia. 351
Hence we may Infer the reafon, why ancient political conftitutions laid fo
much ftrefs on the formation ofmailBSTs by .education i as their internal ftrength
depended wholly, on this fpring. Modern kingdoms are built on money, or
mechanical politics ; the ancient, on the general way of thinking of a nation
from it's infancy : and as nothing has a more efficacious influence upon children
»ban religion^ moftoftJie ancient ftatfis, particularly tliafe of^iJ^were more or
lefs theocraiic. I know the averfion in which this name is held, as to it all the
evil, that has at any time oppreffed mankind, is in great meafure afcribed. It's
abufes 1 will by no means undertake to defend : but at the fame time it is true,
that this form of government is not only^a^^apted to the jnfancyjof the human
race, but neceflary to it; otherwiie, affuredly, it would neither have extended
fo far, nor have maintained itfelf fo long. It has prevailed from Egypt to
China, nay in almoft every country upon Earth; fo that Greece was the firft, which
gradually feparated religion from it's leglflatiorf. And as every religion is more
efficacious in a political view, the more it's objcfts, it's gods and heroes, and
their various adtions, are indigenous ; wc find every firmly rooted ancient nation
has appropriated it's cofmogony and mythology to the country it inhabited.
The ifraelites alone dlftinguifli themfelves from all their neighbours in this,
that they afcribe neither the creation of the World, nor that of man, to their
own country. Their lawgiver was an enlighLtened foreig^ne£, wjio never reached
the land they were afterwards to poffefs : their anceftors had inhabited another
country: and their laws were framed out of their own territories. This after-
wards contributed probably to render tlie jews more latisfied in a foreign land,
than almoft any otlier ancient nation. The bramin, the fiamefe, cannot live
out of his own country : and as the jew of Mofes is properly a creature of Pa-
leftine, out of Paleftine there ttiould be no jew.
3. Finally, from the whole region over which we have wandered, we perceive
how tranfttory all hiwjanJruSIures are, nay how oppreßve the beß inßitutions become
in the courfe of a few generations. The plant bloflbms, and fades : your fathers
have died, and mouldered into duft: your temple is fallen: your tabernacle,
the tables of your law, are no more : language itfelf, that bond of mankind, be-
comes antiquated: and (hall a political conftitution, (liaU a fyftem of govern-
ment or religion, that can be erefted folely on thefe, endure for ever? If
fo, the wings of Time muft be enchained, and the revolving Globe hang
fixed, an idle ball of ice over the abyfs. What fhould we fay now, were we
to fee king Solomon facrifice twenty two thoufand oxen, and a hundred and
twenty thoufand fheep, at a fingle feftival ? or hear the queen of Sheba try-
ing him with riddles at an entertainment ? What (hould we think of the
wiflom of the cgyptians, when the bull Apis, the facred cat, and the facred
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35t PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XH.
goat, were fliown to us in the moft fplendid temples? It is the fame with the
burdenfome ceremonies of the bramins, the fuperftitions of the parfecs, the
empty prctenfions of the jews, the fenfelefs pride of the chinefe, and every thing
that refts on antiquated human inflitutions of three thoufand years date. The
dodlrines of Zoroafter may have been a praifeworthy attempt, to account for the
evil in the World, and animate his contemporaries to all the deeds of light : but
avhat is his theodicy now, even in the eyes of a mohammedan ? The mctem-
pfychofis of the bramins may have it's merit as a juvenile dream of the imagina-
tion, defirous of retaining the immortal foul within the iphere of obfervation,and
uniting moral fcntiments with the well-meant notion : yet has it not become
an abfurd religious law, with it's thoufand additions of precepts and pra&ices ?
Tradition in itfelf is an excellent inftitution of Nature, indifpenfable to the
human race : but when it fetters the thinking faculty both in politics and edu-
cation, and prevents all progrefs of the intelled, and all the improvement, that
new times and circumftances demand, it is the true narcotic of the mind, as
well to nations and feds, as to individual^. Alia, the mother of all the mental
illumination of our habitable Earth, has drunk deep of this pleafantpoifon, and
handed the cup to others« Great ftatcs and feds lleep in it, as, according to
the fable, fiiint John flecps in his grave: he breathes foftly, though -he died al-
moft two thoufand years ago, and numbering waits till his awakcncr ihall
come.
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[ 3S3 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY*
BOOK XIII.
I TAKE learfe of Afia with the regret of a traveller, obliged to quit a coun-
try, before he has acquired the knowledge of it he wiflied. How little do
we know of it ! and for the moft part of how recent times, and from what
doubtful authority ! Of the eaftern part of Afia we have but lately acquired
any knowledge ; and this through the means of men imbued with religious or
political prejudices } while much of what we have thus acquired has been fo
embroiled by literary partilans in Europe, that great diftrifts of it are ftill to
us a fairy-land. In Hither Afia, and the neighbouring land of Egypt, every
thing appears to us as a ruin, or a dream that is pad : what we know from re-
cords, we have only from the mouths of the volatile greeks, who were partly
too young, partly of too different a way of thinking, for the remote antiquity
of thefe flates, and noticed only what concerned themfelves. The archives of
Babylon, Phenicia, and Carthage, are no more : Eg;}'pt was in it's decline, aU
moft before it's interiour was vifited by a greek : fo that the whole is (hrunk
up to a few withered leaves, containing fables of fables, fragments of hiftory, a
dream of the ancient World.
With Greece the morning breaks, and we joyfully fail to meet it. The in-
habitants of this country acquired the art of writing at an early period com-
pared with others ^ and in moft of their inflitutions found fprings to guide their
language from poetry to profe, as in this to hlftorj' and philofophy. Thus the
Philofophy of Hiftory looks upon Greece as lier birthplace, and in it fpent her
youth. Even the fabling Homer defcribcs the manners of fcveral nations,
as far as his knowledge extended. They who fung the exploits of the argo-
nauts, the echoes of whofc fongs remain, entered into another memorable re-
gion. When proper hiftory fubfequently feparatcd itfelf from poetry, Hero-
dotus travelled over feveral countries, and collccled with commendable infantile
curiofity whatever he faw and heard. The later writers of hiftory in Greece,
though their own country was their only objecl, could not avoid faying many
things of other countries, with which the greeks were connected : thus their
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354 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIIL
canvas was gradually extended, particularly by the expeditions of Alexander.
With Rome, to whom the greeks ferved not only as guides in hiftory, but as
hiftorians, it extended ftill more ; fo that Diodoras of Sicily, a greek, and
Trogus, a roman, ventured to form thetr materiah into a fort of univerfal hif-
tory. Let us then rejoice, tliat at length we have reached a people, whofe
origin indeed is enveloped in obfcurity, whofe early ages are uncertain, and
whofe fineft works, both in letters and the arts, have been for the moft part
deftroyed by the rage of enemies, or the fafhion of the times; yet of whom wc
have noble monuments : monuments that fpeak to us with a philofophic fpirit,
the humanity of which I in vain endeavour to infufe into my cffay on them.
I might invoke, as a poet, allfeeing Apollo, and the daughter of Memory, the
omnifcient mufe: but my infpiring mufe (hall be impartial truth; and my
Apollo, the fpirit of inquiry.
CHAPTER r.
T/te Situation and Peopling of Greece.
The triple Greece, of which we fpeak, is a land of coafts and bays, fur-
rounded by the fea; or rather a clufter of iflands. It lies in a region, where it
might receive from various parts not only inhabitants, but the feeds of culti-
vation, and this fpeedily. Thus it's fituation, and the charaftcr of the people,
which formed itfelf fuitably to the country by early expeditions and revolutions,
foon fet afloat an internal circulation of ideas, and an external activity, denied
by Nature to the nations of the extenfive continent. Finally, the period in
which the cultivation of Gfeece occurred, and the degree of improvement,
which not only the neighbouring people, but the human mind in general, had
attained, contributed to render the greeks what they once were, what they no
longer are, and what they never more will be. Let us more narrowly examine
this fine hiftorical problem ; for the folution of which we have nearly fuificient
data, particulariy from the induftiy of learned germans.
A fecluded nation, enclofed by mountains, far from the feacoaft, and from
any intercourfe with other people; that derived it*s knowledge from a fm-
gle place, and, in proportion as this was more early received, more firmly fixed
it by brazen laws; may acquire great peculiarity of charafter, and retain it
long: but this confined peculiarity will be far from giving it that ufeful ver-
fiitiiity, which can be gained only by active competition with other nations.
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Chap. I.] Situation and Peopling of Greece. 355
Egypt, and all the countries of Afia, are examples of this. Had the power,
which conftmfted our Earth, given it's mountains and feas a different form;
had that great deftiny,. which eftabliflied the boundaries of nations, caufed
them to originate clfewliere than from the afiatic mountains ; had the eaft of
Afia poffeffed an earlier commerce, and a mediterranean fea, which it's prefent
fituation has denied ; the whole current of cultivation would have been altered.
It flowed weftwards ; becaufe eaftwards it was unable to flow, or to fpread.
If we contemplate the hiftory of Wands, and countries connefted by flraits, in
whatever part oiF the World they lie, we find, that, the more fortunate they were
in their peopling, the more eafy and diverfified the ftrcam of aftivity, that could
be fet in motion among them, and the more advantageous the time or fitua*
tion, in which they had to perform their part ; by fo much more did the
inhabitants of fuch coafts or iflands diilinguifli themfelves above thofe of the
main land. On the continent, in fpite of all natural endowments, and acquir-
ed capacities, the fliepherd remained a ihepherd ; the hunter, a himter : even
the hufbandman and artift were confined like plants to a narrow fpot. Com-
pare England with Germany: the engliih are germans, and even in the latefl:
times the germans have led the way for the cnglifti in the greateft things. But
while England, as an ifland, early acquired a much more adlive univerfality of
mind, it's fituation itfelf accelerated the means of improvement, and gave them
without interruption a confidence unattainable by the more embarraflfed conti-
nent. A fimilar difference is perceivable on a comparifon of the danifli iflands, the
coafts of Italy, France, and Spain, the Netherlands, and the North of Germany,
with the interiour country of the flavians and fcythians of Europe, with RuflSa,
Poland, and Hungary. Voyagers in all the feas have found, that on iflands,
pcninfulas,or coafts happily fituate, an application and freedom of improvement
had been generated, which could not have furmountcd the preflurc of the uniform
ancient laws oi the main land *. Read the defcriptions of the Society and
Friendly iflands : in fpite of their diftance from the reft of the habitable World,
they have raifed themfelves into a fort of Greece, even in luxury and ornamen-
tal drefs. In many folitary iflands of the wide ocean the firft voyagers expe-
rienced a gentlenefs and courtefy, which would be fought in vain among in-
land nations. Thus every where we perceive the great law of human nature,
that, where aftivity and quiet, fociety and diftance, voluntary occupation and it's
advantages, are happily united, fuch a courfe of things is promoted, as is favour-
* Compare the malays, and the inhabitants natives of the Kuriles and Fox-iflaDd),with the
oftheafiaticiilands, with thofe of the comment; niungals; obferve Juan Fernandez, Socotora,
ptt eren Japan in competitioD with China ; the^ EafVer-lHand, Byron'^-iHand, the Maldives, &c.
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35« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIII.
able both to the people themfelves, and to their neighbours. Nothing is more
injurious to the health of mankind, than obftruftions of their juices: inthedc-
ipotic ftates of ancient inftitution thefc were inevitable; and hence, if tliey were
not foon extirpated, their bodies, while alive, underwent a lingering death. On
the other hand, where, from the nature of the country, dates continued fmall,
and the inhabitants in healthy aftivity, to which a life divided between fea and
land is particularly conducive, favourable circumftances alone were required,
to form a highly cultivated and celebrated people. Thus, to fay nothing of
other countries, the iflandcrs of Crete were the firft among the grecians them-
felves, to produce a fyftem of laws as a model for all the republics on the main
land ; and of thefe the mod numerous and celebrated were fixed on the coafts.
Thus the ancients placed their feats of blifs on iflands not without rcafcn; pro-
bably becaufe on iflands they found the moft free and happy people.
When we apply this to Greece, how different muft we expedt to find it's
inhabitants from thofe of the lofty mountains. A narrow ftrait divided Thrace
from Afia Minor; and this fertile country, rich in nations, was connefted along
it's weftern (hore with Greece by a found thickly interfperfed with iflands. It
feems as if the HcUefpont had been broken through, and the Egean fea with
it's iflands interpofcd, to facilitate the paflage, and produce a conftant wan-
dering and circulation throughout Greece. Thus in the remoteft times we
find the numerous nations of thefe coafts roaming the feas : Cretans, lydians,
pelafgians, thracians, rhodians, phrygians, cyprians, milefians, carians, lefl)ians,
ghoceans, famians, fpartans, naxians, he?etrians, and eginetans, followed each
other, even before the time of Xerxes, in the dominion of the fea * : and lor§
before thefc maritime powers, pirates, colonifc, and adventurers, were found
upon it ; fo that there is fcarcely a nation of Greece, that has not migrated,
and many more than once. Every thing here has been in motion from the
oldeft times, from the coafts of Afia Minor to Italy, Sicily, and France : no
people of Europe has colonized a finer, more extenfive country, than thefc
greeks. This is what we mean, when we talk of the fine climate of Greece.
Did the expreflion fignify merely the indolent feat of fertility in wellwatered
vales, or meadows overflowed by rivers, how many finer climates would be
found in the other three quarters of the Globe, no one of which, however,
has yet produced greeks -f ! But a feries of coafts, enjoying an air fo favourable
to the aftivity of little ftates in the prc^refs of cultivation, as thofe of Ionia,
Greece, and Grecia Magna, are no where elfe to be found upon Earth.
• Heyne'« Commentary on the Epoch of f Sec Ricdcfcrs Btmerittn^in mtftinnMß
Caftor, in the iW. Commnt, S*f. Gatt,, * New n^h dtr Ltvante, « Obfcrvationj on a Tour w
Memoirs of the Gaettingen Society/ Vol. U H. the Levant/ p. 1 1 3.
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Chap. I.] Situation and Peopling of Greece, 357
We need not long inquire whence Greece derived it's firft inhabitants. They
were called pelafgians, that is ftrangcrs, and at this dillance acknowledged the
people beyond the fea, that is, of Afia Minor, as brethren. It would be ufelcf»
labour, to enumerate all the courfes they fleered, through Thrace, or over the
Hellefpont and Archipelago, weftward and fouthward ; and how, protcfted by
the northern mountains, they gradually fpread over Greece. One tribe followed
another J one tribe prefled upon another: hellencs brought new knowledge to
the ancient pelafgians, as in the progrefs of time grecian colonies again fettled
on the afiatic (hores. It was favourable enough for the greeks, that they were in
the vicinity of fuch a fine peninfula of the great continent, moft of the inhabitants
of which were not only of one race, but more early civilized *. Hence their lan-
guage acquired that originality and uniformity, which a mixture of many tongues
could not have poffcffed ; and the nation itfelf participated in the moral con-
dition of the neighbouring primitive race, with whom it was foon connefted
by the various relations of war and peace. Thus Afia Minor was the parent
of Greece, both in peopling it, and in imparting the principal features of it's
earlieft cultivation : while Greece in it's turn afterward fent out colonies to it's
mother country, and lived to fee in it a fecond and fuperiour cultivation.
It IS to be regretted, however, that we have very little knowledge of the
afiatic peninfula in the earlieft times. Of the kingdom of the trojans we know
nothing except from Homer : and however high he endeavours, as a poet, to
exalt his countrymen above their antagonifts, the flourifliing ftatc of Troy in
the arts, and even in magnificence, is evident from his account. In like
manner the phrygians were an ancient and early cultivated nation, whofe
religion and fables had an unqueftionable influence on the earlieft mythology
of the greeks. So afterwards the carians, who called themfelves brothers of the
myfians and lydians, and were of the fame race with the pelafgians and leleges,
applied eariy to navigation, which at that time was merely piracy ; while the
more civilized lydians (hare the invention of coin, as a medium of commerce,
with the phenicians. Thus none of thefe people were wanting in early culti-
vation, any more than the myfians and thracians, and were capable of becoming
greeks by proper tran(plantation.
The primitive feat of the grecian mufes was in the north-caft, toward Thrace.
Orpheus, who firft converted the lavage pelafgians to humanity, and introduced
thofe religious pradices, that prevailed fo widely and fo long, was a thracian.
The firft mountains of the mufes were the mountains of Theflfaly; Olympus,
• See Heyne on the Origin of the Greeks» Ctmmtutaf, Stc, GerttiM^., * Memoin of the Goet-
tifigcQ Society, 1764.
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35» PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIII.
HclicoD, Parnaffus, Pindus : here, fays the acuteft of the inveftigators of gre-
cian hiftory *, was the mod ancient feat of the religion, philofophy, mufic, and
poetr)s of Greece. Here dwelt the firft grecian bards : here were formed the
firft civilized focieties : here the lyre and the harp were invented, and the firft
models caft of every thing, that grecian genius aftcnvards produced. In Thef-
£ily and Bccotia, which in later times were fo little celebrated for the pro*
duftion of genius, there is not a fountain, a river, a hill, or a grove, which
poetry has not immortalized. Here flowed the Peneus, here was the de«
lightful Tempe : here Apollo wandered in the garb of a fhepherd, and here
the giants piled up their mountains. At the foot of Helicon Hefiod yet
learned his fables from the mouths of the mufes. In fhort, the firft cultivation
of the greeks was indigenous here j and hence the purer grecian language flowed
through the defcendants of the hellenes in it's principal dialedb.
In the courfe of time, however, a feries of other fables neceflarily arofe, on
fuch various coafts and iilands, and from fuch repeated wanderings and adven-
tures, which the poets equally confecrated in the temple of the grecian mufc.
Almoft every little diftri<£t, every celebrated tribe, introduced into it it's ancef-
tors or national divinities : and this variety, whicli would form an impenetrable
wood, if we were to confidcr the gfecian mythology as a fyftem, infiifed life into
the national way of thinking firom the actions and manners of every tribe.
Without fuch various roots (ind germes, that fine garden, which in time pro-
duced the moft diverfified fruits, even in legiflation, could not have come to per-
fection. The land being divided into many portions, this tribe defended it's
valley, that it's coafts and iflands ; and thus from the long youthful aftivity
of fcattered tribes and kingdoms arofe the great and free genius of the grecian
mufe. It's cultivation was under the control of no univerfal lord : from the
voice of the lyre, at religious ceremonies^ games, and dances ; from arts and
fciences of it's own invention ; and, lafUy, ftill more from the various intercourle
of the different tribes of Greece among each other and with ftrangers j it adopted»
of it's own free will, now this, now that law, cuflom, or principle : thus being
a free grecian people, even in the progrefs of cultivation. That, as phenician
colonies contributed to this in Thebes, fo egyptian colonies did in Attica, cannot
be denied : yet, fortunately, neither the principal race of tlie greeks, nor their laa-
guage and way of thinking, fprung from thefeu Thanks to their defcent, mode
of life, and native mufes, the greeks were not deftined to become a herd of
egyptian canaanites.
^ Heyne on the MoTe« : Tee Gcttt. Anxii^, * The Goettingen Renew,' for 1766« |^ a/i«
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[ 359 ]
CHAPTER IL
Tie Languagey Mythology y and Poetry of Greece.
Wb now come to fubjefts, which have been for fome thoufands of years the
delight of the more polilhed part of mankind, and I hope will ever continue to
be fo. The grecian language is the moft refined of any in the ^yorld ; the
grccian mythology, the richefl and moft beautiful upon Earth j the grecian
poetry, perhaps the moft perfeft of it's kind, when confidered with refpeft to
time and place. But who gave this once rude people fuch a language, fuch
poetry, and fuch figurative wifdom ? The genius of nature, their country, their
way of life, the period in which they lived, and the charadker of their pro-
genitors,
The greek language fprang from rude beginnings : but thefe very beginnings
cont^ed the feeds of what it was afterwards to become. They were no hiero-
glyphic patchwork, no feries of fingly cjefted fyllables, like the languages beyond
the mungal mountains. Readier and more flexible organs produced among
the caucafean nations a more eafy modulation, which was fufceptible of being
loon reduced to form by the focial propenfity to mufic. The words were more
fmoothly connected, the tone modulated into rhythm : the language flowed in
a fuller ftream ; it's images, in pleafing harmony : it raifed itfelf to the melody
of the dance. And thus the peculiar charaäer of the greek language, not
conftrained by mute laws, arofe as a living image of nature, from mufic and the
dance, from hiftory and fong, and from the talkative free intercourfe of many
tribes and colonies. The northern nations of Europe were not thus for-
tunate in their formation. Foreign manners imparted to them by foreign
laws, and a religion devoid of fong crippled their language. The german,
for example, has unqueflionably loft much of it's intrinfic flexibility, of it's
more precife expreflion in the inflexion of words, and ftill more of that
energetic tone, which it formerly poflefled in a more favourable climate. Once
it was a near fifter of the greek j but how fiir from this is it now degenerated !
No language beyond the Ganges pofleffes the flexibility and fmooth flow of the
greek : no aramean dialeA on this fide the Euphrates had them in it's ancient
form. The grecian language alone appears as if derived from fong : for fong,
and poetry, and an early enjoyment of freedom, fafliioned it as the univerfal
language of the mufes. Improbable as it is, that all the (prings of grecian
oukivation (bould again combine together ; that the in&ncy of mankind fliould
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36o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book Xin.
return, and an Orpheus, a Mufaus, and a Linus, or a Homer and Hefiod»
revive with every concomitant circumftance : as little is the generation of a
greek language in our times poflible, even in the fame regions.
The mythology of the greeks flowed from the fables of various countries :
and thefe confided either of the popular faith ; the traditionary accounts,
that the different generations prefervcd of their anccftors ; or the firft attempts
of reflefting minds, to explain the wonders of the Earth, and give a confillcncy
to fociety ♦. However fpurious and new-modified our hymns of the ancient
Orpheus may be i ftill they are imitations of that lively devotion and reverence
of Nature, to which all nations in the firft ftage of civilization arc prone. The
rude hunter addrefles his dreaded bear-f ; the negro, his facred fctifti ; the parfec
mobcd, his fpirits of nature and the elements; nearly after the Orphic manner:
but how is the Orphic hymn to Nature rdfined and ennobled, merely by the
grecian words and images ! And how much more pleafing and eafy did the
greek mythology become, as in time it rejcftcd even from it's hymns the fetters
of mere epithet, and recited inftead, as in the fongs or Homer, &bles of the
deities ! In the cofmogonies, too, the harfli primitive legends were in time
amalgamated together, and human heroes and patriarchs were fung, and placed
by the fide of the gods. Happily the ancient relaters of theogonies introduced
into the genealogies of their gods and heroes fuch ftriking, beautiful allegories,
frequently with a fingle word of their elegant language, that when fubfequent
philofophers thought fit merely to unfold their fignification, and conneft with
it their more refined ideas, a new delicate tiflue was formed. Thus the epic
poets in time laid afide their frequently repeated fables of the generation of the
gods, the ftorming of Heaven, the adions of Hercules, and the like, and fang
more human themes for the ufe of man.
Of thefe Homer, the father of all the grecian poets and philofophers tliat
fucceeded him, is the moft celebrated. His fcattered fongs had the fortunate
deftiny to be colleded at the moft &vourabl« junflure, and eredted into a
double edifice, fhining like an indeftruftible palace of gods and heroes after
thoufands of years. As men have endeavoured to explain the wonders of
nature, fo they have taken pains to inveftigate the exiftence of Homer J, who
was in faft a mere child of Nature, a happy bard of the Ionian fhore. Many
• See Heyne De Fentibus (/ Caufis Erro- f See Georgi's jthhiUtmgtn der Veelktr dts
rum, ^'c, • On the Sources and Caufcs of Er- JRuß/chcM ReUbt, ' Delineation« of the people of
rour in mythological Hiflory : on the phyiical the Ruffian Empire/ Vol. I.
Caufcs of fables : on the Origin and Cauics of | Blackweirs Inquiry |nto the Life and
the Fables of Homer : on the Thcogony com- Writings of Homer, 1 736 : Wood's Eflay 00 th«
piled by Hcfiod: 5rc.' original Genius of Homer, 1769.
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Ch A p . II.] 71u Lanpiagey Mythology^ and Poetry of Greece. 361
of his order have funk perhaps into oblivion, who might have been in part his
competitors for that fame, which he alone enjoys. Temples have been erefted
to him, and he has been adored as a human divinity: but his nobleft adoration
confifts in the permanent influence he had on his own nation, and on all who
are capable of feeling his merit. The fubjcfts of his fong, indeed, are trifles in
our eyes : his gods and heroes, with their paffions and manners, arc fuch as the
feibles of his own and preceding times prefented: his knowledge of phyfics and
geography, his morals and pohtics, are equally confined. But the truth and
wifdom, with which he has moulded all the objefts of his world into a living
whole; the fteady outline of every feature of every perfon in his immortal pic-
ture; the eafy, unlaboured manner, in which, free as a god, he penetrates into
every charafter, and relates their virtues and vices, their fortunes and misfor-
tunes; and laftly, the mufic, that inceflantly flows from his lips throughout
poems of fuch extent and variety, and will animate every image, every tone, as
long as his verfes (hall live ; are the circumftances, for which Homer fliands
unrivalled in the hiftory of mankind, and which render him worthy of immor-
tality, if aught on Earth can be immortal.
On the greeks Homer neceflarily had a different effect from what he can
have upon us, from whom he fo often obtains a forced and frigid admiration, or
indeed cold contempt. Not fo with the greeks. To them he fung in a living
language; at that time perfeftly unfettered by what was fubfequently termed
dialefts : to them he fung with patriotic feelings the exploits of their anceftors
againfl foreigners, and recited families, tribes, aftions, and countries, which
were in part prefent to their eyes as rheir own, and in part lived in the memory
of their national pride. Thus to them Homer was in many refpefts the divine
herald of national fame, a fource of the mod diverfificd national wifdom. The
fucceeding poets followed him: from him the tragic borrowed fables; the di-
daftic, allegories, examples, and maxims : every one, who firfl: attempted a new
kind of writing, took from the artificial flrufture of Homer's work the model
of his own : fo that Homer was foon the pattern of grecian tafte, and with
weaker heads the ftandard of all human wifdom. The roman poets, too, felt
his influence ; and but for him the Eneid would never have exllled. Still
more has he contributed, to reclaim the modern nations of Europe from bar-
barifm ; fo many youth have been formed, while they were delighted by him;
fo many adtive as well as contemplative men have imbibed from him the prin»
ciplcs of tafte, and a knowledge of mankind. Yet it cannot be denied, that,'
as every great man has been the caufe of abufes from an inordinate admiration
of his talents, lo lias the good Homer ; infomuch that no one would wonder
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362 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book Xni.
more than himfelf, could he arife from the dead, and fee what has been extradbed
from him at various times. Among the greeks fable maintained it's ground
more firmly, and for a longer period, than it would have done probably without
him : rhapfodifls fung after him, frigid poetafters imitated him, and the cnthu-
fiafm for Homer became at length among the greeks fuch a bald, infipid, wire*
drawn art as fcarcely has been paralleled for any poet by any other people.
The innumerable comments of the grammarians upon him are for the moil part
loft; otherwife we fhould fee in them the mifeiable toil God impofes upon the
fuccecding generations of men in every preponderating genius:, for arc not ex-
amples enough extant of the erroneous ftudy and mifapplication of Homer ia
modern times ? Thus much however is certain, that a mind like- his, in the pe-
nod in which he lived, and for the nation by which his works were colle6ted»
was fuch an inftrument of improvement, as fcarcely any other people can boaft»
No oriental nation pofleiTes a Homer: no poet like him has appeared at the
proper fcafon, in the bloom of youth, to any people of Europe. Even Oflian
was not the fame to his fcots : and the Fates alone can tell, whether a fecond
Homer will be given to the new grecian Archipelago, the Friendly iflonds, who
will lead them to an equal height with that, to which his elder brother led
Greece.
As the cultivation of the greeks thus proceeded from mythology, poetry,
and mufic, we need not wonder, that a tafte for them remained a leading fea-
ture of their charaftcr^ as their moft ferious writings and inftitutions evince»
To our manners it appears incongruous, that the greeks (hould fpeak of mufic
as the finilhing point of education, that they fliould treat it as a grand engine
of ftate, and afcribe the moft important confequences to it's decline. Still
more fingular appear to us the animated and almoft rapturous praifes they be-
flow on dancing, pantomime, and the dramatic art, as the natural lifters of poe-
try and wifdom. Many, who read thefe encomiums, believed, that the mufic
of the greeks was a miracle of fyftematic perfe&ion, as we are fo totally unac-
quainted with any thing like it's celebrated effects. But that the greeks did
not principally apply to the fcientific perfeäion of mufic appears from the very
ufe which they made of it : for they did not cultivate it as a diftindt art, but
employed it fubferviently to poetry, the dance, and the drama. Thus the
grand effeft of it's tones lay in this connexion, and in the general bent of grc-
cian cultivation. The poetry of the greeks, proceeding from mufic, readily
ftturned to it again; fublime tragedy itfelf originated from the chorus; the
aAcient comedy, public rejoicings, military expeditions, and the domeftic hila-
rity of the feaft, were feldom unaccompanied by mufic and fong; and few
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Chap. IL] Tie Language^ Mythology^ mid Poetry of Greece, 363
games were deftitute of the dance. In thcfe, indeed, as Greece confiftcd of many
flates and nations, one province differed much from another : the times, the
various degrees of civilization and luxury, induced ftill greater variation : yet
on the whole it remains pcrfeftly true, that the greeks eftecmcd the joint im-
provement of thefe arts the fummit of human enefgy, and attached to it the
highcft value.
It mud be confefied, that neither pantomine nor the drama, neither the dance,
nor poetry, nor mufic, is with us, what it was with the greeks. With them all
thefe were only one work, one bloflbm of the human mind, the wild feeds of
which we perceive in every nation of gay and pleafing character, if placed in a
happy climate. Abfurd as it would be, to endeavour to tranfport ourfelves
back to this period of youthful levity, which is now pafl:, and to &ip as a hob-
bling graybeard among boys ; why (hould the graybeard be offended with youth
for being lively, and dancing ? The cultivation of the greeks fell on this period
of youthful jollity, from the arts of which they elicited whatever was capable
of being educed, and thus neceilarily accomplillied effeds, the poffibility of
^hich is fcarce conceivable to us, exhaufted and difeafed. For I doubt, whe-
ther a greater power of operation of refined fcnfes upon the mind can be pro-
duced, than the ftudied fupreme point of junflion of thefe arts, particularly on
minds educated and formed to them, and living in a world animated by fimilar
impreiEons. If then we cannot be greeks ourfelves, let us at leaft rejoice, that
there once were greeks, and that, like every other flower of the human mindi
this alfo found a time and place to put forth it's lovelieft bloffoms.
From what has been (aid may be conjedtured, that many fpecies of grecian
compofition, which were defigned for animated reprelentation, with mufic»
dancing, and pantomime, appear to us merely as (hadows, and may perhaps
millead us even with the moft careful explanation. The theatres of ^fchylus,
Sophocles, Ariftophancs, and Euripides, were not our theatres: the proper
drama of the greeks is no more to be feen in any nation, however excellent the
pieces of this kind, that many have produced. Without ibng» without the
feftivals of the greeks, and without the exalted notions they entertained of
their games, the odes of Pindar muil appear to us the exclamations of ebriety i
as even in the dialogues of Plato, abounding in melody of language, and
beautiful compofition of images and words, thofe very paffages, which
were clothed with the greateft art, have been expofed to the moft numerous
objeftions from critics. Youth, therefore, muft learn to read the greeks; fince
the aged are feldom inclined to look at them, or appropriate to themfelves
tjicir beauties. Grant, that their imagination often outflies the underftanding;
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364 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XHL
that the refined fcnfuality, in which, they place the cffcnce of accompliflimcnt^
fometimes overfteps the bounds of reafon and virtue ; let us not refufe them
due efteem, though we refrain from bccom'ing greeks ourfelvcs. From their
drefs, the fine proportion and outline of their thoughts, the natural vivacity o*.
their fentiments, and laftly from the melodious rhythm of their language, which,
never yet found it's equal, we have much to learn.
CHAPTER IIL
TAe Arts of the Greeks,
Ik all the arts of life, a people endued with fuch fentiments muft neceflarily
afcend firom the neceflary to the beautiful andplcafingi and the greeks attained
almofl the higheft point in every thing relating to them» Their religion
required liatues and temples ; their political inftitutions demanded monu*
ments and public edifices -y their climate and way of living, their adUvity,
luxury, vanity, &c., rendered various works of art indifpenfable. Thus the
genius of beauty put thefe works into their hands, and affifted them alone of
all mortals to finifli them ; for though their greateft wonders of art have long
been deftroyed, we dill admire and cherUh their ruins and fragments.
X. That religion greatly promoted the arts of the greeks, we fee from the
catalogues of their works in Paufanias, Pliny, or any of the colleftions, which
fpeak of their remains : and this is conformable to the univerfal hiftory of men
and nations. All men have been de&rous of feeing the objeAs of their
worfliip; and every where they have attempted, to paint or carve reprefenta-
tions of them, where this has not been prohibited by religion or the law. Even
the negro renders his god prefent to him in a fetilh : and of the greeks we know,
that the reprefentations of their gods primarily originated from a ftone or a
rude billet. This poverty could not long fatisfy a people fo adtive : the block
became a herm *, or a ftatue ; and as the nation was divided into many little
tribes and dates, it was natural, that each Ihould endeavour to embellifh the
images of it*s domeftic and family deities. Some fuccefsful attempts of
the ancient Dedalufes, and probably the view of neighbouring works of art,
excited emulation ; and thus Czveral dates and tribes were foon enabled to
contemplate their god, tlie moft facred of all the things they pofiefled, in a
more agreeable form. The firft eflays of ancient art, in which it learned as
it were to go, were principally images of the gods-f : hence no nation, to which
* *£{M«i per fyncopen pro i^ii0>^a* firmttion of it, and tdditions to it, in the gennan
f See Winckelmann*$ Gt/cl. dtr Kunß, ' Hiftory papers of the Goettingen Society, Vol. I* p. s i 1«
of the Artj/ Vol. I, chap. 1 ; and Heyne'« con- &c.
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Chap. III.] Tie Arts of the Greeks. ^6^
rcprcfentations of the gods were prohibited, ever made any great advancement
in the imitative arts.
But as the gods of the greeks were introduced by poetry and fong, and
animated them in majeftic forms, what could be more natural, than that the
imitative arts fliould become the nurflings of the mufe, who poured into theic
car thofe fpicndid forms ? From the poets the artift learned the hiftory
of the gods, and confequently the manner, in which he was to delineate
them : hence the firft artifts rejefted not the moft terrible reprefentations,
while fuch the poets fung *. In time more pleafing delineations fucceeded,
poetry itfelf affuming more agreeable features: and thus Homer was the
parent of the improvement of the fine arts of the greeks, as he was of their
poetry. From him Phidias derived the exalted idea of his Jupiter, which
was followed by the other performances of this fculptor of gods -f. From the
genealogies and affinities of the gods in the relations of the poets, deter-
minate charafters, or family features, entered into their reprefentations, till at
length the received poetical tradition became a law for the figures of the gods,
throughout the realms of art. Thus no people of antiquity could pofiefs the arts
of the greeks, who had not alfo the grecian poetry and mythology, and who
acquired not their cultivation In a fimilar manner. But fuch arc not to be
found in hiftorj' ; and confequently the greeks, with their homeric arts, remain
alone.
Hence may be explained the ideal creation of grecian- art, which arofe neither
from the profound philofophy of the artifts, nor the natural conformation of
the people, but from the caufcs, that have been developed. Unqueftionably
k was a fortunate circumftance, that the greeks, confidered in the whole, were
beautifully formed ; though this form muft not be extended to every individual
greek, as a model of ideal beauty. In Greece, as every where elfe, copious
Nature did not fubmit to be checked in the thoufandfold variation of the
human figure ; and, if Hippocrates may be believed, as among others, fo among
the greeks, deforming accidents and maladies were to be found. But admilting
all this, and taking into the account many happy opportunities^ when the
artift could exalt a beautiful youth into an Apollo, and a Phryne or a Lais into
a goddefs of love ; this would not explain the received ideal of the deities,
which was eftabliftied as a rule among the artifts. Perhaps it is as little pro-
bable, that a head of Jupiter ihould ever have been found on a human body,
as that the Jupiter of Homer adtuaily exifted in this World. The great ana-
tomical draughtfman Camper x.as clearly fhown on what deeply meditated rules
* See Heyne ugier den Kaften des Kyffetus, f Diis quam hominibus fingendis aptior.
« On the Coffer of Kypielus,; &c. Plin. f .
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366 PHILOSOPHY OF^HISTORY. [Book XIII.
the ideal form of the grecian artift was conftrufted* : but to thcfc rules the
reprefentations of the poets, and the aim of producing religious veneration,
alone could hare led. If, therefore, you would produce a new Greece in
images of the gods, give a people again this poetic mythological fuperllition,
with every thing belonging to it, in all it's natural fimplicity. Travel through
Greece, and contemplate it's temples, grottoes, and fkcrcd groves ; you will
foon relinquifli the thought, even in wifli, of exalting to the height of grecian
art a people totally ignorant of fuch a religion, that is, of fuch a lively fuperiti-
tion, which filled every town, every fpot, every, nook, with the prefence of an
innate divinity.
2. All the heroic £Eiblesof the greeks, particularly when they relate to the pro-
genitors of their race, are in a (imilar predicament ; for they too pafled through
the minds of the poets, and in part lived in eternal fong : accordingly the artift,
who made them his fubje&s, copied their hiftory with a fort of religious r^ard
to the poets, to gratify the pride of his countrymen, and their attachment to
their anceftors. The mod ancient hiftory of the arts, and a view of the grecian
performances, confirm this. Graves, (hields, altars, holy places, and temples,
preferved the remembrance of their fore&thers i and on thefe, in many tribes,
the labours of the artift were employed from the moft ancient times. All war-
like nations throughout the World painted and adorned their (hields : the greeks
went ^M'ther ; they engraved, or caft and carved upon them memorials of their
anceftors. Hence the early performances of Vulcan in very ancient poets : hence
in Hefiod the (hield of Hercules with the achievements of Perfcus. With (hields
came reprcCentations of this kind upon the altars of heroes, or other family me-
morials ; as the coffer of Kypfelus (hows, the figures on which were completely
in the ftyle of He(iod's (hield. Noble works of this kind are pf earlier date than
the age of Dedalus ; and as many temples of the gods were ori^nally tombs <f , in
them the memory of their anceftors, their heroes, and their deities, came fo near
together, that they coalefced almoft into one adoration, at leaft into one fpring
of the arts. Hence the ancient ftories of their heroes reprefented on the drapery of
their gods, and by the fide of the altar and the throne : hence thepiftures in ho-
nour of the deceafed frequently in the market place of the city, or the herms and
columns on graves. If to thefe we add the innumerable works of art prefented
to the temples of the gods by ftates, families, or individuals, as memorials, or
votive offerings of gratitude -, and frequently adorned, according to cuftom, with
• Camper's Kliifurt 6chri/)tn,*Sma\\eTTn^$t* nerva Polias at Athens, the tomb of Erifthonias ;
p. 1 8 and foil. the throne of Amydus« the tomb ofHyacin-
f As, for example» the temple of Pa!1as at tl^s, &c.
XiarUTa waa the tomb of Acrifiiu ; that of Mi-
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Chap. III.] The Arts of the Greeh, 367
fubjefts from the hiftory of their progenitors, or heroes ; what other people can
boail fucb an incentive to the moft diverfified art? Our galleries of anceftors,
filled with the portraits of forgotten forefathers, are nothing in comparifon with
thefe ; as all Greece was full of ftories, and poems, and facred places, of their
gods, and heroic progenitors. Every thing was conneded with the bold idea,
that gods were related to them ; that fuperiour men, and heroes, were but an
inferiour order of deities : and this idea their poets had inftifed.
With this regard to national and family fame, by which the arts were pro-
moted, I reckon the grecian games. Thefe were inftituted by their heroes, and
fellivals to their memory : befide this, they were public afts of worftiip to the
gods, and praftlces higlily advantageous both to poetry and the imitative arts.
Not merely that youths, partly naked, exercifed themfelves in various contefts and
feats of aaivity,and thus prefented living models to the artifts ; but rather as by
thefe excrcifes their bodies were rendered fufceptible of a finer form, and thefe
juvenile vidtoriw's preferved in their minds an aftivc remembrance of the fame
of their celatious, their progenitors, and their heroes. From Pindar, and from
hiftory, we know how highly thefe viftories were held in eftimation throughout
all Greece, and with what emulation they were fought. The whole town of
the conqueror was honoured by them : the family of the viftor was raifed to a
level with the gods and heroes of old. On this turns the economy of Pindar's
odes : works of art, which he raifed to a value higher than that of ftatues. On
this depended the honour of the tomb, or ftatire, commonly a work of fancy,.
which the viftor could claim. By this fuccefsful emulation of his heroic an-
ceftors he was raifed to fomething more than man, and became a kind of god.
Where now could fuch games be inftituted, equally prized, and equal in con-
fequences ?
3. The political inftitutions of the greeks likewife promoted the arts : not
{o much becaufe they were republics, as bccaufe thefe republics employed the
artifts on grand works. Greece was divided into many ftates ; and in thefe the
arts were foftered, whether they were governed by archons, or by kings. For
thefe kings were greeks ; and every demand for the arts, whether fpringing from
seligion or family tales, was their demand : frequently, too, they were the high-
priefts. Thus from remote periods the decoration of their palaces was diftin-
guiüied by precious relicsof theiranceftors or heroic friends, as Homer relates. But
the republican conftitutions, which in time were difFufed throughout all Greece,,
gave a wider fcope to the arts. In a commonwealth, edifices for the affembly
of the people, for the public treafure, for general exercife and amufement, were
neceflary^ and thus arofe, in Athens, for example, the magnificent gymnafta.
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368 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIIL
theatres, and galleries, the Odeum and Prj^taneum, the Pnyx, &c. As in the
gi-ecian repubhcs every thing was condufted in the name of the people, or of the
town, nothing, that concerned their tutelary deities, or the grandeur of their
name, was too coftly ; while individuals, and even the principal citizens, fatis-
lied thcmfclvcs with lefs fumptuous habitations. This public fpirit of doing
every thing, in appearance at leaft, for the community was the foul of the gre-
cian ftatcs; as Winkelmann no doubt confidered, when heefteemed the liberty
of the grecian republics the golden age of the arts. In them grandeur and
magnificence were not fo divided as in modern times, but concentred in what-
ever pertained to the (late. Pericles flattered the people with thefe notions of
fame, and did more for the arts, than ten kings of Athens would have done.
Every thing he built was in the grand ftyle, as it was for the gods, and the im-
mortal city ; and aiTuredly few of the grecian towns and iflands would have
erefted fuch edifices, or promoted fuch works of art, had they not been feparate
republics, emulous of each other's fame. Beiides, as in democratic dates the
leaders of the people muft endeavour to pleafe the public, what means could
they more advantageoufly employ, than fuch kinds of expenfe, as, while they
tended to propitiate the tutelary deities, were calculated to gratify the eyes of
the people, and afford fubfiftence to many ?
This expenfe, no doubt, had confequences, from which Humanity would
willingly avert her eyes. The rigour with which the athenians oppreflid thofc
whom they conquered, and even their colonies ; the robberies and wars, in which
the ftates of Greece were perpetually involved j tlie fevere fervices, which the ci-
tizens themfelves had to perform for the ftate j and many other things ; rendered
the grecian ftates not tlie moft defirable : but even thefe grievances were fubfcr-
vient to the public arts. The temples of the gods were for the moft part held
facred even by the enemy i and fuch temples as the enemy deftroyed arofe more
iplendid from their a(hes on a reverie of fortune. From the fpoils of the perfians
a more magnificent Athens was built : and, in almoft every fuccefsful war, part
of the booty that belonged to the flate was facrificed to one or other of the arts.
Even in later times, Athens maintained the glory of her name, by her edifices
and ftatues, in fpite of all the ravages of the romans ; for feveral emperors, kings,
heroes, and wealthy individuals, were emulous to preferve and adorn a city,
which was the acknowledged parent of all refined tafte. Hence under the ma-
cedonian empire we perceive the arts of the greeks did not pcrifli; they only
changed their feat. Even in remote countries the grecian kings were ftill greeks,
and cheriflied the grecian arts. Thus Alexander, and feveral of his fucceflbrs,
built fplendid cities in Afia and Africa. Rome, and other nations, too, learned
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Cha?. III.] Tie Arts of the Creeks. 369
from the greeks> when their countries- were ripe for the arts : for throughout the
whole Earth appeared but one grecian art, and (lyle of architefture.
4. The climate of the greeks, too, aflFordcd food for the beautiful in the artsj
not principally from the human figure, which depends more on defcent than on
climate ; but from it's convenient fituation for the materials of the arts, and the
crcftion of the performances of the artift. Their country afforded them the
fine parian and other marbles : ivory, brafs, and whatever elfe the arts required,
they derived from a trade, of which they lay as in the centre. Thefe even pre-
ceded in a certain degree the birth of their arts themfelves ; as they were in a
fituatioo to obtain from A(ia Minor, Phenicia, and other countries, valuable
materials, which they yet knew not how to employ. Thus the feeds of theif
future talents in the arts were early fown ; particularly as their proximity to Alia
Minor, their colonies in Gnecia Magna, &c., excited in them a tafte for luxury,
and the enjoyments of life, which could not fail to promote the arts. The gay
difpofition of the greeks was by no means inclined to wafte it's indulby on
ufelefs pyramids. Individual towns and flates indeed could never deviate into
this wildcrnefs of the monftrous. Thus, if we except perhaps the fmgle Coloflus
of Rhodes, even in their works of greateft magnitude they adhered to that
beautiful proportion, in which the pleafing and fublime are united. For this
their ferene climate afforded them fufEcient opportunity. It allowed them
thofc numerous uncovered fbitues, altai^, and temples ; and in particular the
beautiful column, that pattern of fimplicity, correftnefs, and proportion, the
flender gracefulnefi of which could there fupply the place of the füllen
northern wall.
"When we combine all thefe circumftances, it is obvious, how art could
Operate, in Ionia, Greece, and Sicily, in that corrcft and airy ftyle, which
the greeks exhibited in all their works of tafte. By rules alone it is not to be
learned : but it difplays itfelf in the obfervation of rules ; and, though origi-
nally the infpiration of a happy genius, muft become mechanical by continued
praftice. Even the meancft grecian artift was a greek in his manner; we may
excel him J but the whole genetic fpirit of grecian art we Ihall never attain:
tlie genius of thofe times is gone by.
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370 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIIL
CHAPTER IV.
Ithe moral and political Wijdom of the Greeks.
The manners of the greeks were as different, as their dcfcent, their countrjr,
and the way in which they lived, according to their degree of civilization, and
the feries of fucceffes or misfortunes, in which the fates had placed them. Tue
arcadians and athenians, the ionians and epirots, the fpartans and fybarites, were
fo difSmilar to each other in age, iituation, and mode of life, that I want ftill
to Iketch out a deceptive piftureof them as a whole, the features of which muß
appear more contradictory, than thofe of the genius of the athenians painted by
Parrhafius *. Nothing remains for us, therefore, but to mark the general courfe
taken by the moral culture of the greeks, and the manner ia which it coalefced
with their political inftitutions.
As the moil ancient moral culture of all the nations upon Earth proceeded
chiefly from their religion, fo did that of the greeks, and it continued long in
this track. The religious ceremonies, which were propagated through the
means of the various myfteries, even when politics had attained a very confidcr-
able height ; the facred rights of hofpitality, and of the protection of unfortu-
nate fugitives J the inviolability of holy places i the belief in the furies and ven-
geance, that purfued even unpremeditated murder, and inflidted a curie upon a
whole land for blood unexpiated ; the pradtices of atonement, and appeafiog
the gods i the refponfes of the oracles i the fanftity of an oath, of the hearth,
of the temples, of graves, &c. ; were opinions and inftitutioa3, the prevalence of
which was to unite a rude people, and gradually form demifavages to huma-
nity *f . That they happily accomplifhed their objeft, we perceive, when we
compare the greeks with other nations : for it is inconteflible, that through
thefe inftitutions they were led, not to the gates of philofophy and political cul-
tivation, but deep into their fandtuary. Of what important fervice to Greece was
the oracle at Delphi alone ! It's divine voice pointed oiit fo many tyrants and.
* • Pinxit demo» athenienfium argvmento lib^zsxv. c. lo.
quoqae ingeniofo : volebat namque vaiiam, f See Heyne on the Inilitations of tbe M
iracandom, injaftam» inconftantem, eundem Grecian Legiflatort for the Softemng of Mao-
czorabilem^ dementem, mifericordem, excel- neri« in Opufi, aaufimU», * Academical TnAs/
iom, gloriofom, homilem» ferocem, fugacemqae. Part I, p« 207.
ct omnia paiitct oftcndere.' Pun. Hilt Nat»
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Chap. IVJ Tif mpral mdfalitical Wifdom of the Greeks. 37X
Tillains,in warning them of their fate; and not le(s frequently did it fuccoor
the unfortunate, counfcl thofc in need of advice, ftrengthen beneficial inftitu*
tions with the authority of the gods, make known works of art or the mufc that
could reach it, and give a fanftion to moral principles and maxims of ftatc. Thus
the rude verfes of the oracle accomplifhed more than the mod poliflied lines of
later poets : and it had the greateft influence, as it took under it*s protection the
amphi&yons, the fupreme judges and controllers of the ftates of all Greece, and
gave their fentences in a certain degree the weight of religious laws. What has
been propofed in modem times as the fole mean of eftablifliing perpetual peace
throiighout Europe, a tribunal of amphiftyons *, exiiled formerly among the
greeks; and indeed near the throne of the god of truth and wifdom, who fanc-
tified it by his authority.
With religion may be reckoned all thofe pra&ices, which preferved to pofte-
rity the remembrance of their anceftors, from whofe inilitutions they fprung
for tfaefe continued to operate in the formation of their morals. Thus»
for inftance, the various public games g^ve a peculiar turn to education
in Greece ; as they made bodily exercifes it's prmcipal objeA, and the excel-
lencies acquired by them the aim of the whole nation. No tree ever produced
fuch beautiful fiiiits, as the little branches of olive, ivy, and pine, which crowned
the grecian viftors. Thefe rendered youth handfome, healthy, and gay;
thefe gave their limbs fupplenefs, ftrength, and fymmetry ; thefe ftruck into
their minds the firft fparks of love of fame, even of poftbumous fame, and im-
prefled on them the indelible charafter of living publicly for their country ; and
laftly, what is of all moft valuable, they rooted in their hearts that tafle for
manly intercouHe, and manly friendihip, for which the greeks were peculiarly
diflinguilhed. In Greece woman was not the fupreme ofcyed of conteft, to
gam which the youth bent all his powers : the mofl beautiful Helen could have
formed nothing but a Paris, had her pofleffion or enjoyment been the only fcope
of manly endowment. The female fex, notwithflanding the fine patterns of
every virtue it produced in Greece, remained a fubordinate obje£k : the thoughts
of nobler youth were bent on fomething higher : the bands of friendfhip, which
they formed with each other, or with more experienced men, trained them for
a fcbool, which no Afpafia could eafily fupply. Hence, in many flates, the
manly love of the greeks; with that emulation, that inflruftion, that con-
fbmcy, and that facrifice of felf, the feelings and confequences of which we
lead in Plato almofl as a romance from a foreign planet. Manly hearts united
• Z— Omvrtsfar St. Pitm \ * St. Pierre*« Works/ Vol. I, and tlmoft all hu writing!.
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372 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIII.
in bonds of love and friend (liip, that held till death : the friends difplayed toward
each other a fort of jcaloufy, which hunted out the minuteft fpots ; and each
dreaded the other's eye, as a penetrating flame difcovcring the moft fecrct incli-
nations of his mind. Youthful friendfliips are thefweetcft; and nofentinient
is fo definable as the love of thofe, with whom we have exercifed ourfclycs in the
courfe of pcrfeftion, during the delightful years of our budding faculties: and
this courfe was publicly prcfcribed to the greeks in their gymnafia, and in their
military and political occupations, of which thofe facred bands of lovers were the
natural confequences. I am far from defending the depravity of manners, which
in time fprung from the abufe of thefe inftitutions, particularly where youth ex-
ercifed naked ; but, alas ! this abufe flowed from the charadter of the people,
whofe warm imagination, and love almofl to madnefs of every thing beautiful,
in which they placed the fupreme enjoyment of the gods, rendered fuch difbrders
inevitable. Had thefe been privately performed, they would have been flill
more pernicious, as the hiftory of all nations in warm climates, or of luxurious
manners, fufficiently proves. Thus public inftitutions, and laudable aims,
gave vent to the flame, that raged within : and thus it came under the coercive
infpeftlon of the laws, which employed it as an adkive engine for the purpofcs of
the ftate.
Laftly. As triple Greece, fituate in two quarters of the Globe, was divided
into many tribes and ftates ; the moral culture, that appeared in various places,
muft have been genetic to each tribe, and political in fuch different ways, that
this circumftance alone is fufHcient, to explain the happy prc^refs of grccian
manners. The ftates of Greece were conneded only by the gentleft bands ;
a common religion and language, the oracles, the games, the tribunal of
amphi&yons, &c. j or by defcent and colonization ; and laftly by the remem-
brance of ancient common enterprizes, poetry, and national fame : no defpot
compelled any farther union ; and even their common perils for a long time
pafled over without deftrudive confequences. Hence each tribe drew from the
fource of culture what it efteemed proper, and watered itfelf from what ri\-ulet
it thought fit. And this it did according to it's wants; though principally under
the guidance of fome fuperiour men, whom forming Nature lent. Even among the
kings of Greece there were worthy fons of the ancient heroes, who had advanced with
the times, and rendered not lefs fer\'icc to their people by good laws, than their
fethers had done by their celebrated valour. Thus, excepting the firft founders of
colonies, Minos was particularly eminent among royal legiflators, who formed to war
his valiant Cretans, the inliabitants of a mountainous ifland, and was n pattern in
aftertimes for Lycurgus. He was the firft, that checked the pirates, and gave
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Ch A p . rV.] The moral and poUiical Wijdom of the Greeks. 373
fecurity to the Egean fea; the firft general founder of morals by fea and land.
That feveral monarchs refembled him in being the authors of good inftitutions,
appears from the hiflories of Athens, Syracufe, and other kingdoms. But, it
muft be confeffed, the adlivity of mankind in moral cultivation, as connefted
with the ilate, affumed a very different appearance, when moft of the grecian
monarchies were converted into republics: a revolution, certainly one of the
moft memorable in all the hiftory of mankind. It was not poffible in any
country but Greece, where a number of individual nations had continued to
cherifli the remembrance of their origin and race, even under their kings. Every
people confidered itfelf as a diftinft political body, which poffeffed the fame
right to form it's own inftitutions as it's wandering anceftors : none of the
grecian tribes were fold at the will of an hereditary fucceflion of kings. From
this it docs not follow, that the new government v;as better than the old : al-
moft every v;herethe principal and moft powerful perfons ruled inftead of a king,
fo that in many cities there was lefs order, and an infupportable opprcfTion of
the people : yet thus the die was caft, and mankind, as emerging from a ftate
of pupillage, learned to think for themfelves concerning their political conftitu-
tion. Accordingly the era of the grecian republics was the firft ftep of the
human mind toward* manhood, refpefting the important queftion, how men
fliould govern men. All the miftake^ and errours of the governments of Greece
are to be confidered as the effays of youth, which commonly learns to be wife
only from misfortune.
Thus in many ftates and colonies, that had become free, men of wifdom rofe
up, and afted as the guardians of the people. They faw the evils under which
their fellow-citizens fuffered, and turned their thoughts to a conftitution, ereöed
on the laws and manners of the community. Moft of thefe ancient grecian
fages filled fome public office, were governors of the people, counfellors of the
king, or leaders of armies : for from fuch men of rank alone could proceed a
political culture, exerting effeftive influence on the people. Even Lycurgus,
Draco, Solon, were of the firft families of the ftate, or members of aciminiftra-
tion : in their times the evils of ariftocracy, and the difcontents of thj people,
had reached the bigheft pitch; and hence arofe the ready reception of the
improved inftitutions they propofed. Thefe men will inherit immortal praife,
for that, poffefling the confidence of the people, they declined the fo\-ercign
power, both for themfelves and their poftcrityj and applied all their induftr}%
all their knowledge of men and of the world, to a commonwealth, that is, to
the ftate as a ftate. If their firft attempts were far from the fummit of per-
fedbion, far from being eternal mafterpieces of human inftitutions; fuch they
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374 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIII.
were not to be : their excellence was local, and their authors were frequently
compelled againft their will, to adapt them to the manners of the com-
munity, and it's radical evils. Lycurgus had a freer fcope than Solon;
but he recurred to times too remote, and founded a ftatc on fuch principles,
as if the World were to pcrfcvere eternally in the heroic age of uncultivated
youth. He gave perpetuity to his laws without waiting for their cffeös;
and to a mind like his it would have been the fevered punifhment, could be
have looked tlirough all jthe periods of grecian hiftory, to perceive the confe-
quences they occafioncd to his own ftate, and fometimcs to all Greece, partly
by their abufe, and partly by too long continuance. The laws of Solon were
injurious in another way. He himfelf outlived their fpirit : the evil confe-
quences of popular government he forefaw, and they remained evident to the
wifcft and beft of his city, even to the laft gafp of Athens *. But this is (bme
time or other the fate of all human infthutions, particularly the moft difficult,
thofc that concern countries and people. Time and nature alter every thing;
and (hall not men's way of life be changed ? With every new generation a new
way of thinking arifes, however government and education may adhere to their
ancient modes. New wants and dangers, new advantages of conqueft, wealth,
or increafing dignity, and even increafe of population, augment the tide ; and
how can yellerday remain today ? or the ancient law be an eternal law ? The
law is retained, but probably in appearance only ; and, alas ! chiefly in it's
abufes, the facrifice of which appears too fevere to felfifh and indolent men.
This was the cafe with the laws of Lycurgus, Solon, Romulus, and Moles, and
all that outlived their day.
Hence it is very afTedting to hear the words of thefe legUIators in their later
years : they are commonly the voice of complaint ; for they lived long, they
outlived tbemfelves. Such are the words of Mofes and of Solon, in the few
fragments we have of them : nay, if we exclude mere moral maxims, almoft all
the refleftions of the grecian fag^s have a plaintive tone. They perceived the
mutable deftinyand happinefs of men, which the laws of nature confine to nar-
row limits, fadly perplexed by their own conduft, and lamented it. They la-
mented the tranfitorinefs of human life, and blooming youth; and they con-
templated old age, often poor and difealed, but always weak and de(pi(ed. The7
lamented the fuccefs of the impudent, and the forrows of the well-meaning:
but they omitted not to recommend in an aiTeding tone to the members of
their community the moft efie£tual weapons againft thefe, prudence and a found
* See Xenophon on the Qonunonwealüi of the Athenians ; alfo Plato, AriAotW» ace.
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Chap. IV.] Tie moral and political Wijdom of the Greeks. 375
tinderftanding, tnoderation of the paflions and quiet induftry, iimplicity and
true fnendfliip, ftcdfaftnefs and inflexibility of mind, reverence- for the gods and
love of our country. Even in the remains of the later grecian comedies thefe
plaintive tones of gentle humanity are heard ♦.
Thus in fpite of all the evil confequences» and in part horrible, to the
helots, pelafgians, colonies, foreigners, and enemies, that proceeded from many
grecian dates; we cannot overlook the noble fublimity of that public fpirit,
which flouriflied, in it's day, in Lacedemon, Athens, Tl}ebes, and, in a
certain degree, in every part of Greece. It is unqueftionably trae, that, as it
flowed not from particular laws of one particular man, it flouriflicd not equally
at all times, and in every member of the ftate : yet it flourilhed among the
greeks, as even their unjuft and jealous wars, their fevereft oppreflions, and the
moft perfidious traitors to their civic virtue, evince. The monumental infcrip-
tion of the fpartans that fell at Thermopylae,
« Traveller« tell at Sparta,
' That here we lie> flain in obedience to her laws,'
will for ever remain the fundamental principle of fupreme political virtue ;
which, after the lapfe of two thoufand years, gives us only to lament, that once
indeed it was the maxim of a few fpartans, with regard to fome rigid patrician
laws of a narrow country, but never became a principle for the pure laws of
coUeftive mankind. The principle itfelf is the higheft, that men cou Id nvenk
and praftice for their liberty and happinefs. The lame may be faid of the con-
ilitution of Athens, though it ftruck into a very difierent path. For if
enlightening the people with regard to thofe things, in which they are moft con-
cerned, ought to be the objeft of a political eftablilhment, Athens was unquef-
tionably the moft enlightened city throughout the whole World. Neither Paris
nor London, neither Rome nor Babylon, and ftill lefs Memphis, Jerufalem,
Pekin, or Benares, can enter into competition with it. Now as patriotifm^ and
an enlightened mind, are the two poles, round which all the moral cultivation of
mankind revolves, Athens and Sparta will ever be remembered as the two grand
llages, on which human politics firft exercifed themfelves in this career with
youthful animation. The other grecian ttates for the moft part only followed
thefe two grand examples ; and a few, that refufcd to copy the conftitutions of
Athens and Lacedxmon, fell a prey to conqueft.
The philofophy of hiftory, however, confiders not fo much what was adtually
done by feeble men on thefe two points of the Earth, during the fliort period
• Of this elfewhere.
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376 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookXIII.
of tlicir operations, as what follov»'ed from the principles of their inftitutions
with regard to mankind in general. In fpite of all their faults, the names of
Lycurgus and Solon, Miltiades and Themiftoclcs, Ariflides, Cimon, Phocion,
Kpaminondas, Pclopidas, Agefilaus, Agis, Cleomenes, Dion, Timoleon, and
others, will live with eternal fame ; while Alcibiades, Conon, Paufanias, Lyßin-
der, men equally great, will be mentioned with reproach, as fubverters of the
public fpirit of Greece, or traitors to their country. Without an Athens, even
the modeft virtue of Socrates could fcarcely have produced fuch bloflbms as it
afterwards did in fome of his fcholars : for Socrates was no more than a citizen
of Athens, and all his wifdom was only the wifdom of an athenian citizen^
which he propagated in domeftic dialogues* With "regard to the wiftlom of
common life we are indebted to Athens alone for the moft and bcft in all
ages.
As little can be faid of pradical virtues, we mud yet beflow a few words on
inftitutions, of which only an athenian popular government was fufceptiblc,
the forum and the ftage. Orators before a tribunal, and particularly on affairs
of ftatc, where immediate decifion follows, are dangerous inftruments ; and their
bad confoquences are fufEciently obvious in the hiftory of Athens. Yet as they
prefume a people, that have knowledge, or at leaft are capable of having know-
ledge of every public bufincfs, that is brought before them j the athenian peo-
ple, notwithftanding all their parties, remain alone in hiftorj', being fcarcely
equalled even by the romans. For the bufinefs itfelf, to eleä or try a general,
to decide on peace and war, life and death, and every public affair of ftate, a
turbulent mob was certainly unfit : yet the condudt of this bufinefs, and all
the arts employed in it, opened even the cars of the unruly mob, and gave
them that enlightened mind, that propenfity to political converfation, with
which all the aiiatic nations were unacquainted. Eloquence, thus exercifed
before the public, rofe to fuch a height, as it no where attained, except in
Greece and Rome, and as it never can or will reach again, till perhaps popular
oratory is united with the univerfal diffufion of true knowledge. The objeft is
unquefticnabiy great; though in Athens the means fell (hort of the end.
It was the fame with the athenian ftage. This exhibited plays for the
people, popular, fublime, and ingenious : but with Athens it's hiftory is no
more J as the narrow circle of determinate fubjedts, paffions, and views, to
work upon it's people, could fcarcely revive for the mixed multitude of an-
other race, and a different political conftitution. The moral cultivation of the
greeks, therefore, muft never be meafured, either in their public hiftory, or in
jtheir orators and dramatic poets, by the ftandard of abftrad morality i for in
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Chap. IV.] T'ie moral and political Wtjdom of the Greeks. 377
neither of them was fuch a ftandard followed *. Hiftory (hows, how the greeks,
in every period, were all, that their fituation permitted, both of good and of
bad. The orator fliows, with what eyes he viewed parties in the purfuit of his
profeflion, and with what colours it was neceflary to his purpofe to portray
them. The dramatic poet brought on the ftagc fuch charafters as preceding
times afforded, or as it fuited his objeft to exhibit to his particular audience.
Conclufions relpefting the morality or immorality of the people at large drawn
from thefe would be groundlefs : yet no one will difpute, that the greeks, at
certain periods, and in certain cities, were the moft ingenious, gay, and enlight-
ened people of their world, according to the circle of objefts then before them.
The citizens of Athens afforded generals, orators, fophifls, judges, ftatefmen»
and artifb, as education, propeniity, choice, fate, or accident, direded ; and in
one greek many of the befl and noblcfl qualities were often united.
CHAPTER V.
Scientific Acquiremetits of the Greeks,
It is doing juftice to no people upon Earth, to judge of them by a foreign
ftandard of fcience : yet this has been done to the greeks, as well as to many
afiatic nations, and they have often been unjuftly loaded both with blame and
praife. The greeks were unacquainted with any fpeculative fyftem of doc-
trines refpefting God and the human foul: the inquiries concerning them were
private opinions, in which every philofopher was free, fo long as he obferved the
religious rites of his country, and rendered himfelf obnoxious to no political
party. In Greece the human mind had on this point, as it generally has, to fight
it's way ; and in this at length it was crowned with fuccefs.
The grecian phiiofophy proceeded from ancient tales of the gods and theogo-
nies; and much indeed was fpun from them by the fine invention of the
greeks. The fidions of the births of the gods, of the conflids of the elements,
of the love and hatred of beings towards each other, were fo improved in various
directions by their different fchools, that we may almoft fay, they had advanced
as far as ourfelves, when we invent cofmogonies without the aid of natural hif-
tory. Nay in fome refpedts they advanced farther; as their minds were more
at liberty, and no preconceived hypothefis biafled them in their courfe. Even
* See the introduflion to Gillies's Traiifla- other fimilar works, in which Greece is efliiiuted
tion of the Orations of Lyfias and Ifocrates, with from ii's orators and poeta.
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378 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIII.
the numbers of Pythagoras, and other philofophers, are bold attempts, to affo-
ciate the knowledge of things with the fimpleft idea of the human mind, a
clearly conceived magnitude : but as natural philofophy and mathematics were
then in their infancy, the attempt was premature. Yet, like the fyftems
of many other grecian philofophers, it will ever excite in us a degree of vene-
ration ; as thefe in general, each in it's particular fphere, were the fruits of pro-
found refledtion and extenfive comprehenfion : many of them are founded on
tmths and obfervations, of which, perhaps to the advantage of fcience, we have
fince loft fight. That none of the ancient philofophers conceived god, for
inftance, as a being diftinft from the World, or a pure metaphyfical monad,
but all adhered to the idea of a foul of the World, was perfeftly confonant to
the childhood of human philofophy, and perhaps will for ever remain confonant
to it. It is to be lamented, that we are acquainted with the boldeft opinions
of philofophers only from mutilated accounts, but not fyftematically fix>m their
own works : ftill more is it to be regretted, however, that we are difinclined
to place ourfelves in their times, and eager to intrude on them our way of
thinking. In general ideas every nation has it's particular way of feeing,
founded for the moft part on the mode of expredion, that is to fay, on tradi-
tion : and as the philofophy of the greeks arofe from poems and allegories, this
gave to their abftraft ideas a peculiar fbmp, to themfetves perfeflly clear.
Even the allegories of Plato are not merely ornamental : their images arc like
the claflical fentences of old times, ingenious developements of ancient poetical
traditions.
The inquiries of the greeks were principally direAed to the philofophy of
man and morals j as the time in which they lived, and their political conftitu-
tion, led them particularly this way. Natural hiftory, mathematics, and natural
philofophy, were yet in their rudiments -, and the implements of modern dif-
covery were not invented. Every thing, on the other hand, attrafted them
toward the nature and manners of mankind. This was the predominant tone
of the poetry, hiftory, and political inftitutions of the greeks : every citizen
felt the'neceffity of knowing his fellow-citizens, and was occafionally liable to
be chofen to public offices, which he could not refufe to 611 : the paffions and
aftive powers of men had then freer play, they fuffcred not even the retired
philofonher to pafs unnoticed : to govern men, or to perform the part of an
cffeftive member of fociety, was the predominant propcnfity of every ambitious
grecian foul. It is nothing wonderful, therefore, that the philofophy of the
metaphyfician (hould be occupied on the improvement of morals or the ftate,
as we find in Pythagoras, Plato, and even Ariftotle, As citizens they
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Ca A?, v.] Scientific Acquirements of tie Greeks. 37 j
had no call to found ftates : Pythagoras was not as Lycurgus, Solon» and
others, a fovereign» or an archdn : and the greater part of his philofophy was fpe-
culative, bordering even on fuperftition. Yet in his fchool were educated
men, whofe influence on the ftates of Gnecia Magna was very great ; and the
fociety of his difciples, if fate had allowed it longer duration, would probably
have been the moft effiacious, as it certainly was a very pure engine for the
improvement of mankind *. But even this ftep of a man hr fuperiour to the
age in which he lived was premature : the wealthy, fybaritilh cities of Graecia
Magna, and their tyrants, defired no fuch cenfors of morals, and the Pythago-
reans were martyred.
It is an often repeated encomium, though in my opinion exaggerated, of the
benevolent Socrates, that he was the firft and chief, who called philofophy
from Heaven down to Earth, and imparted to man the boon of morality.
Thi$ encomium at moft is valid only with r^rd to the per(bn of Socrates, and
the narrow circle of his own life. Long before him there were fages, who
had adively inculcated morals upon mankind ; as this was the diftinguifhing
charadVer of grecian lore, even from the fabulous Orpheus <f. Pythagoras, too,
laid much more extenfive foundations for the improvement of men's morals by
his difciples, than Socrates was capable of doing by means of all his friends.
That Socrates was not fond of fublime abftraft fpeculations arofc from his
fituation, and the circle of his knowledge, though chiefly from the time and
his mode of life. The fyftems of imagination, without farther natural expe-
riments, were exhaufted ; and the grecian wifdom was become the wordy play
of fophifts J fo that it required no great effort, to defpife or throw afide, what
was incapable of being carried to a higher pitch. His demon,his native mtegrity,
and the domeftic courfe of his life, guarded him againft the dazzling fpirit of
the fophifts ; and offered to his philofophy the proper objeft of man, which had
fuch beneficial effedks on almoft all with whom he converfed. Thefe effcfts,
however were promoted by the time, the place, and the circle, in which Socrates
lived. Elfewhcre the philofophic citizen would liave been a virtuous and
enlightened man, yet probably we fhould never have heard of his name } for
no invention, no new dodtrine, peculiar to himfelf, marks him in the book of
Time : his method and manner of life, the moral cultivation, which he gave
himfelf, and endeavoured to impart to others, and more particularly the manner
of his death, point him out as a pattern to mankind.
* See the hi/lory of this fociety in Meiners's Homeri quscrunt, quem Socrates pr« omnibu«
Ct/cbubtt itr Wijfcnfchafien in Qrltthenland und fcmpcr rebus fibi cflc cordi diccbat;
Rom^ ' Hiflory of the Sciences in Greece and 'Orr* roi Sv yayxfoi^t iumoi t* «yadwTi rtrvurmi*
Rome/ Vol. 1, Gellius. xiv. 6. F.
f Me« nodes— de uno m&xime illo rerfu
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33o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XUI.
Much is requifite to form a Socrates -, above all the valuable talent of being
fatisfied with little, and that exquifite tafte for moral beauty, which in himfelf
he fcems to have refined into a fort of inftindk : yet let us not exalt this modeft
worthy man above the fphere, in which Providence fixed him. He educated
few fcholars completely worthy of himfelf : becaufe his wifdom belonged as it
were to the houfliold (luff of his own life j and his excellent method was eafily
fufceptible of degenerating, in the mouths of his immediate difciples, into jcft
and fophiftry, if the ironical queftioner pofleffed not the fame (lamp of heart
and mind as Socrates. Even if we impartially compare his two moft celebrated
difciples, Xenophon and Plato, we (hall find, to ufe his own modeft expreffion,
that he was only the midwife of their natural genius ; whence they appear fo
unlike each other. The moft diftinguiftied parts of their works evidently
flow from their own way of thinking j and the beft thanks they could pay the
teacher they loved, were to exhibit his moral pifture. It was much to be
wifhed, however, that the fcholars of Socrates could have infufed his fpirit into
all the laws and political inftitutions of Greece : but hiftory (hows, that this
was not done. He lived at the period, when Athens had attained her higheft
poli(h ; but at the fame time the grecian (btes were moft at variance with
each other : this conjundion of circumftances could not fail to be fucceeded
by unfortunate times, and the declenfion of manners; and thefe foon effefted the
downfal of grecian liberty. Againft thefe they were not protefted by focratic
wifdom, which was too pure and delicate, to fway the fate of a people. Xeno-
phon, the ftatefman and general, pointed out defe&s in the conftitution, which
he poffeflTed not the power to amend. Plato created an ideal republic, which
was no where carried into pradice, and leaft of all in the court of Dionyfius.
In fliort, the philo(bphy of Socrates was more beneficial to mankind, than to
Greece ; and this is unqueftionably it's nobleft prai(e.
Far different was the fpirit of Ariftotle, the moft acute, firm, and dry, per-
haps, that ever guided the ftyle. His philofophy, indeed, is more the philo-
fophy of the fchools, than of common life ; particularly in thofe of his writings
which we poflefs, and in the manner in which they are ufed : but abftra<5t reafon
and fcience have gained fo much the more in him, fo that in this fphere he (lands
alone as the monarch of the times. That the fchoolmen, for the moft parr,
attended to his metaphyfics only, was not the fault of Ariftotle, but their own;
yet thefe incredibly (harpcned human reafon. They put into the hands of
barbarous nations implements, by which the obfcure dreams of &ncy and tra-
dition were firft converted into fophifms, and thus gradually deftroyed them-
felves. His better works, however, bis natural hiftory and phyfics, ethics.
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Ch A P . v.] Scientific Acquirements of the Greeks. 381
politics, poetics, and rhetoric, (HII want much happy application. It is to be
regretted, that his hiftorical works are loft, and that of his natural hiftory we
have only abftrafts. Let thofc, however, who deny the greeks the fpirit
of pure fcience, read Ariftotle and Euclid, writers, never excelled in their
kind : then, too, it was the merit of Plato and Ariftotle, to awaken the fpirit
of natural knowledge and mathematics, which in greatnefs foars beyond
all moralifing, and labours for all ages. Many of their fcholars promoted
aftronomy, botany, anatomy, and other fciences ; while Ariftotle himfelf, with
his natural hiftory alone, formed the bafis of an edifice, in the completion of
which ages yet to come will find employment. In Greece were laid the foun-
dations of every thing knowable in fcience, as of every thing beautiful in form :
alas I that fate has allowed us fo little of the works of it's profoundcft philofo-
phers ! What remains is excellent : but, perhaps, the moft excellent is gone.
It will not be expeftcd of me to go through the feparate fciences of mathe-
matics, phyfic, natural knowledge, and all the fine arts, to give a ftring of names
of thofe, who, as inventors or improvers, have ferved as the groundwork of
every thing fcientific in them to all fubfequent ages. It is univerfally known,
that Afia and Egypt have given us, properly fpeaking, no true fonn of know-
ledge in any art or fcience : for fuch we have to thank the acute methodical
Ipirit of the greeks alone. Now as it is a determinate form of knowledge, that
effefts their augmentation or improvement in future times, we are indebted to
the greeks for the bafis of almoft all our fciences. Let them have appropriated
to themfelves as many foreign ideas as they pleafed, fo much the better for
us : it is fufficient that they methbdifed them, and aimed at clearer know-
ledge. In this the various fchools of the greeks were what their feveral repub-
lics were in politics, emulous powers contending together for one common
objeA : without this divifion fo much would not have been done for fcience
even in Greece. The ionian, Italian, and athenian fchools, though they
had one common language, were parted by lands and teas : each therefore
could feparately take root, and when it was engrafted, or tranfplanted, bore fo
much the finer fruit. No one of the early philofophers was paid by the ftate,
or even by his fcholars : he thought for himfelf; he invented from love of
fcience, or {ix)m love of fame. Thofe whom he inftrufted were not children,
but youths, or men ; and frequently men who bore the moft important offices
in the ftate. Men did not write then for annual fairs of literature 5 but their
thoughts were fo much the more perfeveringly and profoundly employed : at
the (ame time, in the fine climate of Greece, the temperate philofopher could
think undifturbed by care, as little was required for his fupport.
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38a PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [BookXDL
In the mean time» we muft not here refiife monarchy the praife it deienrea.
No one of the grecian republics was capable of affording Ariftotle that affift-
ance in natural hiftory, which he received from his royal fcholar : ftill kis
could the fciences that require leifure and expenfe, as mathematics« aftronomy^
&c., have made the advancement they did in Alexandria» without the efta-
blifliments founded by the Ptolemies, To thefe we are indebted for an Euclid»
an Eratofthenes» ApoUonius Pergaeus» Ptolemy» and others» who laid the foun-
dations of fciences» on which not only the prefent fyftem of leamii^ re(b» but»
in a certün degree» the government of the whole World. That the period of
grecian eloquence and popular philofophy ended with the republics» was not
without it's advantages: thefe had born their fruits ^ but other germes of (c^
ence» fpringing from grecian minds» were neceflary to the human underftand«
ing. We readily forgive the egyptian Alexandria for the inferiority of her
poets*» flie made ample compenfation in good aftronomers and mathema«
ticians. Poets form themfelves : diligence and praftice alone make accurate
obfervers.
There are three fubjefts» in particular, to which the grecian philofophy
opened the path» in a manner that could fcarcely have been accomplißied ia
any other part of the World : langui^e» hiftory» and the arts. The language
of the greeks received fuch abundant richnefs and beauty from their poets,
orators» and philofophers» that in later times the inftrument itfelf» when inca-
pable of being applied to fuch brilliant ends in public life» attraded no incon-
fiderable attention. Hence the art of the gnunmarians» who were in part aftual
philofophers. Time indeed has robbed us of the greaterport of thefe write« j
though the fenfe of this lofs is deadened by that of nuny greater : their influ-
ence» however» has not been obliterated -, for the ftudy of the greek language
emitted fparks» at which that of the latin» and of the philofophy of language
in general» caught fire. Nay hence fprung the ftudy of the oriental diale&s
of Hither Afia: for it was from the greek» that men learned to reduce the hebrew,
arable» and other languages» to rules.
In like manner a philofophy of the arts was thought of no where but in
Greece ; where» from a happy impulfe of nature, and a fure habitual tafte»
poets and artifts carried into praftice a philofophy of the beautiful» before it's
rules were analyzed. Thus from the aftonifhing emulation m epic and dramatic
poetry» and in public fpeaking» a criticifm was nece&rily formed» to which
ours can fcarcely be compared. A "few late fragments of it only» the writings
• See Heyne on the Genim of the Age of the Ptolemief» in O/t^/i. «r«/.» « Academical Tia^/
Part I, p. 76 and fbU.
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Chap. V.] Scientific Acqtarements of tie Greeks. 383
of Ariftotle excepted, have come down to us ; but tbefe evince the refined pene-
tration of the grecian critics.
Laftly, the philofophy of hiftory belongs particularly to Greece 5 for the
greeks alone poffeffed what miglit properly be called hiftory. The orientals
bad their genealogies and fiibles; the northern nations, their tales s others»
their poems : the greeks, in procefs of time, formed from tales, poems, fables,
and genealogies, the found body of a narrative, through all the members of
which the current of vitality flows. Here, too, it's ancient poetry led the
way, for it is not eafy to relate a fable in a more pleafing manner, than was
done in the epic poem : the divifion of the fubjeA into rhapfodies introduced
fimilar paufes in hiftory, and the long hexameter was well adapted foon to form
the melody of hiftorical profe. Thus Herodotus fucceeded Homer; and the fub-
fcquent hiftorians of the commonwealths introduced their colouring, the fpirit
of republican oratory, into their narration. Now as with Thucydides and
Xenophon the grecian hiftory proceeded from Athens, and it's writers were
themfelves ftatefmen and generals, their hiftory naturally became a colleftion
of fads and reafonings upon them, without their feeking to give them this
philofophical form. The public orations, the intricacy of grecian affairs, the
animated appearance of events and their motives, prompted fuch a form ; and
we may confidently aflcrt, that no philofophical hiftory would have been
known to the World, had the grecian republics never exifted. In proportion
as the military art and the fcience of politics developed themfelves, the philo-
fophical fpirit of hiftory was rendered more elaborate ; till at length it became
in the hands of Polybius almoft the fciences of war and politics themfelves.
In models of this kind fubfequent fpeculators had ample materials for their
remarks ; and the Dionyfiufes had certainly ampler opportunities to acquire the
rudiments of hiflory, than a chinefe, a jew, or even a roman could have pof-
feffed.
As we thus find the greeks fo rich and fuccefsfiil in every exercife of the
xnin I, in poetical, oratorical, philofophical, fcientific, and hiftorical works ; why»
Fate of the times, haft thou deprived us of fo many of them ? Where
are the Amazonia of Homer , his Thebaid and Irefione, his Iambics, and his
Margites? Where are the many loft pieces of Archilochus, Simonides, Alcasus,
and Pindar J the eighty three tragedies of iEfchylus, the hundred and eighteen
of Sophocles J and the innumerable performances of tragic, comic, and lyric
poets, the greateft philofophers, the moft indifpenfable hiftorians, the moft
memorable mathematicians, natural philofophers, and others, that have pe»
nfhed ? For one work of Democritus, Ariftotlc, Theophraftus, Polybius, or
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384 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. {Book XIH.
Euclid ; for one tragedy of ^fchylus, Sophocles, and fo many others; for one
comedy of Ariftophanes, Philemon, or Menander; for one ode of Sappho or
. Alcaeus ; for the loft natural and political hiftory of Ariftotle, or for the five
and thirty books of Polybius ; who would not give a mountain of modern
writings, his own the firft in the heap, to heat the baths of Alexandria for a
twelvemonth ? But the iron foot of deftiny takes a far different courfe, re-
gardlefs of the immortality of individual performances in fcience, or in art.
The grand Propybeum of Athens, aU the temples of the gods, thofe magni*
ficent palaces, walls, colofTufes, columns, feats, aqueduds, ftreets, altars,
which the ancients ereSed for eternity, have fallen beneath the fiiry of the
conqueror; and (hould a few feeble leaves of human induftry and refleftion
be fpared ? Rather is it a fubjcft of wonder, that we have fo many ; too many,
perhaps, for us to have ufed them all as they ought to have been ufed. In con-
clufion, let us now confider the hiftory of Greece as a whole, after having thus
gone through it's parts : it inftrudively carries it's philofophy with it, ftep by
ftcp.
C H A P T E JR VI.
Hißory of the Revolutions of Greece.
However abundant the revolutions, that embroil the pages of grccian hif--
tory, the threads of them lead to a few principal points, the natural laws of
which are clear. For,
1. That in the three traftsof land, with their iflands and peninfulas, which
conftituted Greece, many tribes and colonies, from the higher countries and the
fea, (hould migrate from place to place, fettle, and expel one another, is con-
formable to the univerfal hiftory of the ancient world in fimilar tra<5bs of land
and fea. But here the migration was more animated, as the populous northern
mountains, and the extenfive country of Afia, were near; and the fpirit of en-
terprife was kept in great aftivity by a feries of adventures, the tales of which
were current. This is the hiftory of Greece for about feven hundred years.
2. That different degrees of cultivation, and from different quarters, muft
have come to thefc tribes, follows equally from the nature of the country, and
of circumftances. They fpread from the north ; they paffed over from different
parts of the neighbouring civilized regions, and fettled in different ways in dif-
ferent places. At length the predominating hellcnes gave uniformity to the
whole, and flamped the cbarader of the grecian language and way of thinking.
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Chap. VI.] Hifiory of the Revoitams ^fGnete, 385
Now the feeds of cultivation, thus introduced, muft have germinated verjr dif-
ferently and unequally in Afia Minor, in Grecia Magna, and in Greece pro-
perly fo called : but this variety aided the grecian fpirit by means of tranfplan-
tation and rivalry : for ft is an acknowledged faft, both in the hiftory of plants
and animals, that the fame (eed does not eternally flöurifli on the fame fpot,
but produces more perfedk and racy fruits, if tranfplanted at proper (eafbns.
3. The feparate ftates, from originally fmall monarchies, in time became
ariflocracies, and fome of them democracies : both were often in danger of fall-
ing again under the will of one niter; the democracies moft frequently.
This, too, is the natural progrefs of political eftablifliments in their early youth.
The chief people of the tribe thought proper to withdraw themfelves from obe-
dience to the will of a monarch ; and, as the people were unable to guide them-
felves, they became their guides. But according as the occupation, the fpirit,
and the inftitutions of the people were, they remained under thefe leaders, or
aflumed a (hare in the government. The former was the cafe in Lacedsemon ;
the latter, in Athens. The caufes of this may be found in the circumftances
and conftitutions of the two cities. In Sparta the regents flriäly watched each
other, fo that no tyrant could arife : in Athens the people were more than once
decoyed into a tyranny, either avowed or concealed. Both towns, with all they
cfTefted, were as natural confequences of their fituation, epoch, conftitution,
and circumftances, as any natural produdion could be.
4. Several republi/cs, pitted as it were more or lefs againft each other, by
common occupations, boundaries, or fome other intereft, but ftill more by mar*
tial fpirit and love of fame, would foon find caufes of quarrel : the moft power-
ful firft ; and thefe, when they could, would draw others to their party, till one
obtained a preponderance. This was the cafe in the long wars between the
juvenile ftates of Greece, particularly between Lacedamon and Athens, and lat-
terly Thebes. The wars were carried on with animofity, rigour^ and often bar-
barity : as all wars will be, In which every citizen and foldier takes a common
part. They mbftly originated from trifles, or points of honour, as battles among
youths generally arife : and what appears fingular, though it is not fo by any
means, every vanquifliing party, Lacedaemon in particular, fought to impofe it's
laws and conftitution on the vanquilhcd, as if thefe would indelibly imprefs on
it the marks of defeat. For ariftocracy is a fworn enemy to tyranny, as well
as to popular government.
5. The wars of the greeks, however, confidered as to the manner in which' they
were conduäed, were not the mere incurfions of lavages : in time they developed
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386 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIII.
the whole fpirit of war and politics, which has ever turned the wheel of events ♦.
Even the greeks knew the neceflities of a date, and the fources of it's wealth and
power, which they often endeavoured to create, though in a rude way. They
underftood the meaning too of the balance of power between the republics, and
the different ranks in the ftate ; of fecret and open confederacies; of ftratagems
of war; of preventing, abandoning, &c. Both in military and political affairs,
the moft expert of the romans, and of the moderns, have learned from the
greeks : for however military manceuvrcs may change, with change of weapons»
times, and the circumftances of the World ; the fpirit of man, which invents,
deceives, conceals it's purpofes, attacks, defends, advances, retreats, difcovers
the weaknefs of an enemy, and in this way or that avails itfelf of advantages, or
abufes them, will remain at all times the fame.
6. The war with the perfians makes the firft grand era in grecian hiftory. It
was occafioned by the afiatic colonies, which had been unable to refill the fpirit
of conqueft of the vaft oriental monarchy, but, accuftomed to be free, fought
the earlieft opportunity, to (hake off the yoke. {That the athcnians fent twenty
fhips to their aid, arofc from the pride of democracy ; for Cleomcnes, the fpar-
tan, had refufed them affiftance: and with their twenty (hips they led all Greece
into the wildeft war. When once it had commenced, however, it was a prodigy
of valour, that a few inconfiderable ftates fliould gain important viÄories over
two great kings of Afia. But it was no miracle : the perfians were drawn alto*
gether out of their focus ; the greeks contended for land, life, and liberty. They
fought j^ainft flavifh barbarians, who had fhown them, in the example of the
cretrians, what they had to cxpeft ; and therefore neglefted nothing, that hu-
man wifdom and valour could perform. The perfians under Xerxes attacked
as barbarians : in one hand they brought chains to enftave ; in the other, fire to
lay defolate : but this was not fighting with prudence. Themiftocles employed
merely the advantage of the wind againft them : and it muft be confefltd, that
to an unwieldy fleet a contrary wind is a dangerous opponent. In fhort, the
perfians condufted the war with a great force, and much fury; but without!
ikill : confequently the event could not be fuccefsful. Even had the greeks^
been defeated, and their whole country laid wafte like Athens ; the perfians,
from the centre of Afia, and with fuch an internal ftate of the kingdom, could
never have retained them in fubjedtion ; for they found it extremely difficult
even to hold Eg}'pt. The fea was the friend of Greece, as the Delphian oracle
faid in another fenfe.
* A comparifoo of fevcral nadons, in this refpefl, will arife from th« progrefs of hiftory.
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Chap. VI.] Hißory of the Revolutions of Greece. 387
7. But the defeated pcrfians left behind them in Athens, with their fpoiis
and difgrace, a (park, which kindled flames, that deftroyed all the grccian infti-
tutions. This confifted of the wealth and glory, the fplendour and jealoufy,
in (hort all the ingredients of that pride, which followed the war. In Athens
the age of Pericles foon arofe; the moft brilliant ever experienced by a (late fo
fmall : and it was quickly followed, from very natusal caufes, by the unfortunate
peloponneflan war, and the two fpartan i till at length a fingle vidory enabled
Philip of Macedon, to throw his chains over all Greece. Let no one fay, that an
unpropitious deity controls the fate of mankind, and envioufly feeks to caft them
down : men are the malignant demons of each other. As Greece was in thofe
days, could it feil of being an eafy prey to a conqueror ? And whence could
this conqueror come, but from the mountains of Macedon ? From Perfia,
Egypt, Phoenicia, Rome, Carthage, it was fecure : but near it was an enemy,
who griped it in his ftroiig and wily talons. The oracle was here more prudent
than the greeks : it philippized i and the whole of the event confirmed the ge-
neral pofition, * that a race of united mountaineers, expert in war, and feated on
the neck of a divided, enfeebled, enervated nation, muft neceflarily conquer it, if
it purfue it's objeft with prudence and valour.* This Philip did, and feized on
Greece, which had long before been vanquifhed by itfelf. Here the hiftory
of Greece would have terminated, had Philip been a barbarian like Alaric or
Sylla: but he was himfelf a greek, and his ftill greater fon was the fame^ and
thus, even with the lofs of their liberty, the greeks obtained a name in the annals "^^\
of the World, which few have equalled.
8. The young Alexander, who was fcarcely twenty years old when he afcended
the throne, and fired with the unchecked ardour of ambition, proceeded to
execute the plan, for which his father had made all the neceflary preparations :
he went over into Afia, and invaded the dominions of the perfian monarch him*
felf. This too was an event moft naturally to be expedted. All the expedi-
tions of the pcrfians againft Greece by land had paflcd through Thrace and
Macedon ; and in confequence thefe two nations cherifhed an ancient grudge
againft the people of Perfia. The weaknefs of the pcrfians, too, was fufficiently
known to the greeks, not only from the ancient battles of Marathon, Platsea, &c.,
but, from the mort recent retreat of Xenophon with his tea thoufand greeks.
Now whither (hould the macedonian, the ruler of Greece and generaliffimo of
it's forces, diredt his arms, and lead his phalanx, but againft the wealthy mo-
narchy, which had been deeply decaying internally for a century ? The young
hero fought three battles, and Afia Minor, Syria, Phenicia, Egypt, Lybia, Perfia,
and India, were his own : nay be might have advanced to the boundaries of the
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388 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIIL
ocean, if his macedonians, more prudent than himfelf» had not compelled him
to retreat. Little as all this fuccefs deferves the name of miraculous, as little
was his death at Babylon the work of envious fate. • How grand was the con-
ception, from Babylon to rule the World ! a world, that extended from the
Hindus to Lybia, send even over all Greece as far as the Icarian fea. How vaft
the idea, to make of all this country a Greece in language, manners, arts, trade,
and colonization; and to render Baftra, Sufa, Alexandria, and many other
cities, each a new Athens ! And behold, the conqueror was cut oiTin the
bloom of his life j and with him died every hope of a new-created grecian
world !' Should a man fay thus to Fdte, he would receive for anfwer : * Let
Babylon or Pella be the refidence of Alexander; let the badtrians fpeak the
language of Greece or of Parthia; if the fon of a mortal would 'fexecute his pro-
jefts, let him be temperate, and not drink himfelf to death.' This Alexander
did, and his kingdom was at an end. It is no wonder, that he deftroyed himfelf;
it is much rather to be wondered, that he, who had long ceafed to be able to
fupport his good fortune, did not fooner finifh his careen
9. The empire was now divided : the vail bubble burft. When and
where was the event different under fimilar drcumftances ? The dominions of
Alexander were in no refpeft united : they were fcarcely confolidated into a
whole even in the mind of the conqueror himfelf. The cities he had founded
in different places were unable to defend themfelves in their infant flate with*
out fuch a protestor as he, much lefs to keep in check the* nations, on which
they were impofcd. Now as Alexander died in a manner without an heir, how
could it be otherwife, than that the birds of prey, who had afEfled him in his
viftorbus flight, fhould begin to plunder for themfelves ? They quarrelled
among each other, and contended together for a long time, till each bad eflab-
lifhed his nefl on the fpoils of viftory. This has been the cafe with every flate
fomied by fuch extcnfive and fpeedy conqueft, and fupported only by the mind
of the conqueror : the nature of various nations and countries foon reclaims it's
rights ; fo that it can be afcribed only to the fuperiority of the polifhed Greeks
over the barbarians, that fo many forcibly united r^ions did not fooner return
to their old conflitutions, Parthia, Baftra, and the countries beyond the Eu-
phrates did this firfl : for they lay at too great a diflance from the centr« of an
empire, which had nothing to prote6t it againfl mountaineers of parthian dc-
fcent. Had the Seleucid« made Babyloa their refidence, as Alexander intended
to have done, or their own Seleucia, they would probably have retained more
power toward the eafl ; but then, it may alfo be prefumed, they would fooner
have funk into enen'ating luxuiy. It was the fame with the afiatic provinces
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Chap. VI.] Hißory of the Revoiutms of Greece^ 3 89
of the thracian empire : they availed themfelves of the right to which their con-
querors had reforted, and, when the thrones of the companions of Alexander
were filled by their feebler fucceflbrs, became feparate kingdoms. In all this
the invariably recurring natural laws of political hiftor}' are confpicuous.
10. The kingdoms that lay ncareft to Greece were of longeft duration : and
they might have endured ftill longer, had not the difputes between them-
felves, ar.d more particularly thofe between the romans and Carthaginians, in-
volved them in that ruin, which, proceeding from the queen of Italy, gradually
overfpread the whole (hore of the Mediterranean fea. Feeble, worn out king-
doms ftaked their fortunes in an unequal conteft, againft which no great ihare
of prudence was requifitc to forewarn them. Still, however, they retained as
much of the greciau arts and polifh, as their rulers and the times would admit.
The fciences flourilhed in Egypt under the guife of learning, as thus only they
had been there introduced : like mummies they lay buried in the libraries
and mufeums. In the afiatic courts the arts became licentious pomp. The
kings of Pergamus and Egypt rivalled each other in coUefting books : an emit-
ktion, which was both injurious and beneficial to all future literature. They
colledcd books and felfified them : and afterwards, with the burning of what
was coUedted a whole world of ancient learning was deftroyed at once. It is
obvious, that in thefe things fate no otherwife interfered, than it docs in aU
worldly events, which it leaves to the wife, or fooliflb, yet ever natural, conduft
of men. When the man of letters laments over a loft book of antiquity, how
many things of more importance have we to lament, which have followed the
invariable courfe of fate \ The hiftory of the fucceflbrs of Alexander particu«-
larly claims our notice j not only becaufe it involves fo many caufes of the fell
or prefervation of empires, but as a melancholy pattern of kingdoms founded
on foreign acquifitions, as well of territory, as of fciences, arts, and cultiva-
tion.
11. That Greece in fuch a ftate could never more regain it's priftine (plen-
dour, needs no demonftration : the period of it's bloom had long been over.
Many vain rulers, indeed, laboured to raife up grecian freedom : but it was an
empty labour for a freedom without fpirit, a body without a fouL Athens never
ceafed to idolize it's bcnefadors ; and the arts, as well as declamations on phi-
lofophy and fcience, maintained themfelves in this feat of the general cultivation
of Europe, as long as it was pofiible ; but profperity and devaftation continued
to alternate with each other. The little ftates were ftrangers to harmony, and
the principles of mutual iupport, though they formed the set olian confederacy,
and renewed the acliaian league. Neither the prudence of Philopoemen, nor the
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590 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooicXm.
reftitude of Aratus, reftorcd the ancient times of GFeece. As the declining Sun,
furrounded by the vapours of the horizon, aflumes a greater and more ronumtic
appearance ; fo did the political ftate of Greece at this period : but the beams
of the fetting luminary no longer impart meridian warmth, and the politics of
dying Greece remained ineffeftive. The romans came upon them as cajoling
tyrants, the judges of all the differences in the country to their own advantage;
and fcarcely any barbarians could have aded worfe, than Mummius in Corinth,
Sylla in Athens, and ^milius in Macedon. The romans long continued to rob
Greece of every thing, that could be carried away ; till at length they reipeöed
it jufl: as much as men refpedt a plundered corpfe. They paid flatterers there,
and ient thither their fons, to ftudy in the facred paths of the ancient philolbphers
the fophifms of wordy pedants. At length fucceeded the goths, the chriftians,and
the turks, who put a complete end to the empire of the grecian divinities, which
had been long funk in decrepitude. They are Men, the great gods, the olym-
pian Jupiter and athenian Pallas, the Apollo of Delphi and the Juno of Aigos :
their temples are ruins, their flatues heaps of done, and even their fragments
may now be fought in vain *. They are vaniüied from the face of the Earth, fo
that it is difficult to conceive the fway their faith once held, and the wooden
it effe&ed, among the moil ingenious of all people. As thefe mod beauti-
ful idols of the human imagination have fallen, will the leis beautiful fall like
them ? and for what will they make way; for other idols ?
12. Gnecia Magna, though in a different vortex, experienced at laft a £mi«
lar fate. The moft flourifhing, populous cities, in the fineft climate of the Earth,
founded under the laws of Zaleucus, Charondas, and Diocles, and taking the
lead of moft of the grecian provinces in civilization, fcicnce, arts, and commerce,
were not, it is true, in the way of the perfians, or of Philip; and in confequence
maintained themfelves longer than their european and afiatic fifters : but the
period of their dcftiny arrived. Involved in various wars between Rome and
Carthage, they at length fell, and ruined Rome by their manners, as Rome had
ruined them by her arms. There lie their beautiful and fpacious ruins, lament-
ably defolated by earthquakes and volcanoes, but ftill more by the rage of man-f .
The nymph Parthenope mourns ; the Ceres, of Sicily feeks her temple, and can
fcarcely find again her golden plains*
• See the travels of Spon» Stuart» Chandler, Riede&l, and ochert*
f See the trtveli of Riedefel, Howel, and otheri«
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[ 39» J
CHAPTER VII.
General RefieSlions on tie Hißory of Greece.
W^E have confidered the hiftory of this celebrated region in feveral points of
view, as it is in fome tneafure a general bails for a philofopby of hiflory in all
countries. The greeks not only remained free from any intermixture with fo-
reign nations» fo that their progrefs has been entirely their own; but they fo
perfeÄly filled up their period, and paffed through every ftage of civilization,
from it's flighted commencement to it's completton, that no other nation can be
compared with them. The people of the continent have either flopped at the
rudiments of civilization, and unnaturally perpetuated them bylaws and cuflomsj
or become a prey to conquefl, before they had advanced beyond them: the bloflbm
withered before it was blown. Greece, on the contrary, enjoyed it's full time : it
formed every thing it was capable of forming, and a happy combination of cir-
cumflances aided it in it's progrefs to perfedion. On the continent undoubtedly
it would foon have fallen a vidtim to fome conqueror,, like it's afiatic brethren :
had Daiius and Xerxes accompliflied their defigns, the age of Pericles would
never have appeared. Or had a defpot ruled over the greeks, he would fooa
have become himfelf a conqueror, according to the difpofition of all defpots,
and, as Alexander did, have empurpled diilant rivers with grecian blood. Fo-
reign nations would have been introduced into their country, and their viftories
would have difperfed them through foreign lands. From all this they were pro-
tcdted by the mediocrity of their power, and even their limited commerce, which
never ventured beyond the pillars of Hercules and of Fortune. As the botanifl
cannot obtain a complete knowledge of a plant, unlefs he follow it from the
feed, through it's germination, blofToming, and decay; fuch is the grecian
hiftory to us : it is only to be regretted, that, according to the ufual courfe,
k is yet far from, having been fludied like that of Rome. At prcfent it is my
place, to indicate, from what has been faid, fome points of view in this im-
portant fragment of general hiflory, which mofl immediately prefent themfelves
to the eye of obfervation : and here I mufl repeat the firfl grand principle :
Whatever can take place among mankindy wit fun thefphere of given circnmßance^
of timey place^ and nation^ aEiually does take place. Of this Greece affords the am-
plefl and mofl beautiful proofs.
In natural philofophy we never reckon upon miracles : we obferve laws, which
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392 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIII.
wc perceive every where equally effeÄual, undeviating, and r^lar. And (hall
man» with his powers, changes, and paffions, buril thefe chains of nature ? Had
Greece been peopled with chinefc, our Greece would never have exifted : had
our greeks been fixed where Darius led the enflaved erctrians, they would have
formed no Athens, they would have produced no Spartaywhold Greece now :
the ancient greeks are no more to be fcen ; nay frequently their country no
longer appears. If a remnant of their language were not ftill fpoken ; if marks
of their way of thinking, if ruins of their cities and works of art, or at leaft their
ancient rivers and mountains, were not (lill vifibte : it might be fuppofed, that
Greece was not lefs fabulous, than the ifland of Calypfo, or the gardens of Aid*
nous. But as the modern greeks have become what they are only by the courfe
of time, through a given feries of caufes and eifeAs, fo did the ancient ; and
not lefs every other nation upon Earth. The whole hillory of mankind is a pure
natural hiftory of human powers, aftions, and propenfities, modified by time
and place«
This principle is not more fimple, than it is luminous and ufefiil, in treating
of the hiftory of nations. Every hiftorian agrees with me, that a barren wonder
And recital deferve not the name of hiftory : and if this be juft, the examining
mind muft exert all it's acumen on every hiftorical event, as on a natural pheno-
menon. Thus in the narration of hiftory it will feek the ftrifteft truth ; in forming
it*s conceptions and judgment, the moft complete connexion : and never attempt
to explain a thing which is, or happens, by a thing which is not. With this ri-
gorous principle, every thing ideal, all the phantoms of a magic creation» will
vanifli : it will endeavour to fee fimply what is : and as loon as this is fcen, the
caufes why it could not be otherwife will commonly appear. As foon as the
mind has acquired this habit in hiftory, it will have found the way to that (bund
philofophy, which rarely occurs except in natural hiftory and mathematics.
This philofophy will firft and moft eminently guard us from attributing the
fafts, that appear in hiftory, to the particular hidden purpofes of a fchemc of
things unknown to us, or the magical influence of invifible powers, which we
would not venture to name«in connexion with natural phenomena. Fate reveals
it's purpofes through the events that occur, and as they occur : accordingly, the
inveftigator of hiftory developes thefe purpofes merely from what is before him,
and what difplays itfelf in it's whole extent. Why did the enlightened greeks
appear in the Worjd ? Becaufe greeks exifted ; and exifted under fuch circum-
ftances, that they could not be otherwife than enlightened. Why did Alexander
invade India ? Becaufe he was Alexander, the fon of Philip ; and from the diC-
pofitions his £ither had made, the deeds of his nation, his age and character, his
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Chap. VII.] General RefleEtims on tie Hißory of Greece, 393
reading of Homer, &c., knew nothing better, that he could undertake. But if
we attribute his bold refolution to the fecret purpofes of fome fuperiour power,
and his heroic achievements to his peculiar fortune ; we run the hazard, on the
one hand, of exalting his mod fenfelefs and atrocious adtions into defigns of the
deity j and, on the other, of detrafting from his perfonal coun^, and military
(kill i while we deprive the whole occurrence of it's natural form. He who
takes with him into natural hiftory the fairy belief, that invifible fylphs tinge
the rofe, or hang it's cup with pearly dew-drops, and that little fpirits of light
encafe themfelves in the body of the glow-worm, or wanton in the peacock's
tail, may be an ingenious poet, but will never (hine as a naturalift or hiftorian.
Hiftory is the fcience of what is, not of what poffibly may be according to the
hidden defigns of fate.
Secondly. PVkat is true of one people^ holds equally true with regard to the con*
nexion of fever al together : they are joined as time and place unites them*, they aSl
upon one another y as the combination of a£five powers direffs.
The greeks have been aded upon by the aiiatics, and the afiatics readted
upon by the greeks. They have been conquered by romans, goths, chriftians,
and turks : and romans, goths, and chriftians have derived from them various
means of improvement. How are thefe things confiftent ? Through place,
time, and the natural operation of aftiv« powers. The phccnicians imparted
to them the ufe of letters : but they had not invented letters for them ; they
imparted them by fending a colony into Greece. So it was with the hellenes
and egyptians; fo with the greeks that migrated to Badtra; fo with all the
gifts of the mufe, which we have received from their hands. Homer fungf;
but not for us : yet as his works have reached us, and are in our poileffion, we
could not avoid being inftrudled by him. Had any event in the courfe of
time deprived us of thefe, as we have been deprived of many other excellent
works, who would accufe fome fecret purpofe of fate^ when the natural caufe of
the lofs was apparent ? Let a man take a view of the writings that are loft, and
thofe that remain, of the works of art that are deftroyed, and thofe that are
prefen^ed, with the accounts that are given of their d^ftrudlion and prefervation,
and venture to point out the rule, which fate has followed in tranfmitting to us
thefe, and depriving us of thofe. Ariftotle was preferved in a fingle copy under
ground, other writings as wafte parchments in chefts and cellars, the humourift
Ariftophanes under the pillow of St. Chryfoftom, who learned from him to
compofe homilies j and thus the whole of the cultivation of our minds has
depended precifely upon the moft trivial and precarious circumftances. Now
mental cultivation is unqueftionably a thing of the greateft importance in the
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J94 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIH.
faiftory of the World : it has thrown almoft all nations mto commotion, and
now with Herfchel explores the milky way. Yet on what trifling events
has it hinged; the events to which we are indebted for gla& and a few
books ! infomuch, that, but for thefe, we (hould dill perhaps be wandering
about in waggons, with our wives and families, like our elder brotliers, the
immortal fcythians. Had the courfe of things fo ordered, that we had received
mungal letters inftead of greek, we (hould now be writing io the mungal
manner : yet the Earth would (till purfue her grand career of years and feafons,
nourifliing every thing, that lives and adks upon her, according to the divine
laws of nature.
y Thirdly. TXtf cukivation of a people is the flower of it's exiftcncc ; ifs difplay is
pl^äßng indeedy tut tranfitory.
As man, when he comes into the World, knows nothing, but has all his
knowledge to learn ; fo an uncultivated people acquires knowledge from it's
own praftice, or from intercourie with others. But every kind of human
knowledge has it's particular circle, that is it's nature, time, place, and periods
of life. The cultivation of Greece, for example, grew with time, place, and
circumilances, and declined with them. Poetry and certain arts preceded phi-
lofophy : where oratory or the fine arts flourifhed, neither the patriotic virtues«
nor martial fpirit, could Ihine with their higheft fplendour : the orators of Athens
difplayed the greateft enthufiafin, when the ftate drew near it's end, and it's
integrity was no more.
But all kinds of human knowledge have this in common, that each aims at
a point of perfeftion, which when attained by a concatenation of fortunate cir-
cumftances, it can neither prelerve to eternity, nor can it inftantly return, but
a decreaiing feries commences. Every perfeft work, as far as perfeiftion can be
required firom man, is the higheft of it's kind : nothmg, therefore, can poffibly
fucceed it, but mere imitations, or tmfuccefsful attempts to excel. /When
Homer had fung, no fecond Homer in the fame path could be conceived :
he plucked the flower of the epic garland, and all who followed muft content
themfelves with a few leaves. Thus the greek tragedians chofe another track :
they ate, as ^fchylus fays, at Homer's table, but prepared for their guefts a
different feaft. They too had their day : the fubje&s of tragedy were exhauiled,
and their fucceffors could do no more, than remould the greateft poets, that
is, give them in an inferiour form j for the bcft, the fuprcmcly beautiful form
of the grccian drama had already been exhibited in thofc models. In fpite
of all his morality, Euripides could not rival Sophocles, to fay nothing of
bis being able to excel him in the eflence of his art > and therefore the pru^
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Chap. VII.] General ReßeSlims on the Hi/lory of Greece. 395
dent Arlftophanes purfued a different courfe. Thus it was with every fpccics
of grecian art, and thus it will be in all nations : the very circumftance, that
the greeks in their mod flourlfhing periods perceived this law of nature, and
fought not to go beyond the higheft in fomething ftill higher, rendered their
taile fo fure, and it's developement fo various. When Phidias had created his
omnipotent Jove, a fuperiour Jupiter was not within the reach of poffibility :
but the conception was capable of being applied to other gods, and to every
god was given his peculiar charafter : thus this province of art was peopled«
/" Poor and mean would it be, if our attachment to any objedt of human cuU
ture would prefcribe as a law to alldifpofing pCQvld^ce, to confer an unna«
tural eternity on that moment, in which alone it could take place. Such a
wi(h would be nothing lefs, than to annihilate the efience of time, and deftroy
the infinitude of all nature. Our youth returns not again : neither returns the
adion of our mental &culties as they then were. Tho very appearance of the
flower is a fign, that it muft fade : it has drawn to itfelf the powers of the plant
from the very root ; and when it dies, the death of the plant muft follow.
Unfortunate would it have been, could the age, that produced a Pericles and
a Socrates, have been prolonged a moment beyond the time, which the chain
of events prefcribed for it's duration : for Athens it would have been a perilous»
an infupportable period. Equally confined would be the wifli, that the my*
thology of Homer (hould have held eternal pofleffion of the human mind, the
gods of the greeks have reigned to infinity, and their Demofthenes have thun-
dered for everr Every plant in nature muft &de ; but the fading plant feat-
ters abroad it's feeds, and thus renovates the living creation. Shakfpeare was
no Sophocles, Milton no Homer, Bolingbroke no Pericles : yet they were in
theur kind, and in their fituation, what thofe were in theire. Let every one»
therefore, ftrive in his place, to be what he can be m the courfe of things :
this he will be, and to be any thing el(^ is impoffible.^^
Fourthly. Tie health and duration ofaßate reß not on the point of its highfß
cultivation^ but on a wife or fortunate equilibrium of ifi aSlive living fowers. The
deeper in this living exertion ifs centre of gravity lieSy the more firm and durable
it is.
On what did thofe ancient founders of flates calculate i Neither on lethaigtc
indolence, nor on extreme activity -, but on order, and a juft difbibution of
never flumbering, ever vigilant powers. The principle of thefe ikges was
genuine human wifdom, learned from nature. Whenever a ftate was pufhed to
it's utmoft point, though by a man of the greateft eminence, and under the
mofl flattering pretext» it was in danger of ruin, and recovered it's former
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39S PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIIL
ftate only by ibme happy violence. Thus when Greece entered the lifts with
Perfia, it was on a dreadful verge: thiis when Athens, Lacedasmon, and
Thebes, contended together at outrance, the lofs of liberty to all Greece
enfued. Thus» too, Alezander^ with his brilliant viAories, ereded the edifice
of his ftate on a bubble : he died, the bubble burft, and the edifice was
dafhed to pieces. How dangerous Alcibiades and Pericles were to Athens
their hiftory fliows: though it is not lefs true that epochs of this kind,
particularly if they terminate (peedily and happily» difphiy rare effefts» and
fet incredible powers in motion. All the fplendour of Greece was created
by the aftive operation of many ftates and living enei^es: every thing
found and permanent, on the contrary, m it's tafte, and in it's conftitution,
was produced by a wife and happy equilibrium of it's aädve powers. The
fuccefi of it's inflitutions was uniformly more noble and permanent, in piopor-
tion as they were founded on humanity, that is, reafon and juftice. Here the
conftitution of Greece affords us an ample field for refledion, in what it con-
tributicd by it's inventions and inftitutions both to the happinefs c£ it's own
citizens, and to the wdfiure of mankind. But for this it is yet too ciriy. We
muft firft take a view of many periods and nations, before we can £ana conda«
Sons on thefe fubjeds with fecurity.
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I 397 1
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK XIV.
WE now approach the fliore, that brought deftruftion, often terrible, on
moft of the nations we have hitherto confidered : for the ^reading
flood of devaftation» that overwhehned the dates of Greecia Magna, Greece
itfelf, and all the kingdoms that were formed from the ruins of the throne of
Alexander, burft forth from Rome. Rome deftroyed Carthage, Corinth,
Jeruialem, and many other flourifhing cities of Greece and Afia ; as it brought
to a melancholy end every thing civilized in the fouth of Europe, that lay within
the reach of it's fword, particularly it's neighbours Etruria, and the brave
Numantia. It refted not till it attained the fovereignty over a world of nations»
from the Euphrates to the Atlantic ocean, from mount Atlas to the Rhine :
at length, breaking over the boundary prefcribcd it by fete, the valiant refift-
ance of the northern people, or inhabitants of the moimtains, it's internal
diflenfions and luxury, the barbarous pride of it's rulers, the horrible fway of
the foldiery, and the fury of uncivilized nations, who rufhed upon it like the
waves of the (ea, brought it to a lamentable end. The fete of nations was
never fo long and fo abfolutely dependent on one city, as when Rome poflefled
the fovereignty of the World : and while on this occafion it difplayed, on the
one hand, all the force of human courage and refolution, and Hill more military
and political {kill; on the other, it ejdiibited in the mighty conteft vices and
barbarities, at which human nature mud fliudder, as long as it is capable of
feeling the lead fentiment of it's rights. This Rome has become, in a won*
derful manner, the fearfril, precipitous pafläge to all the cultivation of Europe;
for not only were the melancholy remains of the plundered treafures ot all art
and fcience preferved in it's ruins, but through a fingular revolution it's Ian-
gu2^e became the indrument, by which men learned to make ule of all tho(e
treafures of antiquity. Even now the latin tongue is the medium of our
learned tuition from our eariy youth ; and we, who poffefs fo little of the roman
mind and fplrit, are dedined to form an acquaintance with the roman ravagers
of the World, before we are introduced to the milder manners of more gentle
nations, or the principles that conduce to the happinels of our own couniry.
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39« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIV.
The names of Marius aiid Sylla, of C«far and Oftavius, become familiar to us,
before we know any thing of the wifdom of Socrates, or the inllitutions of our
forefathers. The hiftory of Rome, likewife, as the cultivation of Europe has
hinged on it's language, has received political and literary iUuftrations, of which
fcarcely any other can boaft : for the greateft minds, that have reflefted on
hiftory, have reflefted on this, and have taken the principles and afkions of
the romans as the groundwork, on which to develope their own thoughts.
Thus we tread the blood -drenched foil of roman glory as the fimftuary of claffical
learning and ancient art, where at every ftep fome new objefb reminds us of
the funken trcafures of an umverfal empire, never more to return. Wc con-
iider the fafces of the conqueror, beneath which innocent nations once groaned,
as {hoots of a lordly cultivation, which was planted among us a](b through cruel
events. But before we feek a knowledge of this conqueror of the World, we
muft bring an oiTering to humanity, and caft at lead a look of pity on a neigh-
bouring people, that contributed moft to the early formation of Rome, but»
alas ! lay too clofe in the way of it's conquefts, and thence experienced a meUn-
choly end.
C H A P T B R L
Etrufcans and Latins.
Trb protruding peninfula of Italy lay expofed from it's fituation to a number
of different fettlers and inhabitants. As it is joined at it's upper part to the
great continent, which extends from Spain and Gaul over Ulyria to the Euxiae
fea, while it's Ihore lies immediately oppofite to the coafts of Illyria and Greece ;
that, in the times of ancient migration, different tribes of various nations
fhould pafs mto it, was inevitable. Above were fome of illyrian, others of gallic
defcent : below dwelt aufonians, whofe origin can be traced no higher : and as
with moft of thefe pelafgians, and afterwards greeks, nay probably trojans too^
intermingled at different times from diverfe parts i Italy may be confidered, oo
tccoimt of thefe memorable (trangers, as a hothoufe, in which fooner or later
fomething worthy of notice mufl be produced. Many of thefe people came
hither not altogether uncivilized r the pelai^an tribes had their letters, their
religion, and their &bles : fo, it is probable, had many of the iberians likewife,
from their intercourfe with the commercial Phoenicians: thus the queftioo
was, on what ^t, and in what manner, the bloflbms of the country would
put forth.
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Chap. I J Etrufcans and Ltuim. 599
Thefe firft appeared among the etrufcans, who, from whatever part they
came, were one of the mod early and original people in tafle and cultivation.
Their minds were not bent on conqueft: but on eftablidiments, inftitutions,
commerce, arts, and navigation, for which their coafts were well adapted. They
planted colonies throughout almoft all Italy, as &r as Campania, introduced arts,
and purfued trade, fo that a number of the mod celebrated towns in this country
are indebted to them for their origin ♦. Their civil conftitution, in which they
fcrvcd as a pattern to the romans themfelves, was far fuperiour to the govern-
ments of barbarians ; and bears fo completely the (lamp of an european fpirit,
that it cert^nly could not have been borrowed from any afiican or afiatic
people.
Long before the time of it's dcftruöion Etruria was a federated republic of
twelve tribes, united on principles, which were not introduced into Greece till
a much later period, and then from the prcffure of extreme neceffity. No fe-
parate ftatc could engage in a war, or conclude a peace, without the common
confcnt. War itfelf they had already formed into an art ; by the invention,
or ufe of the trumpet, light javelin, pilum, &c., as fignals of attack, of
retreat, of marching, or of fighting in clofc order. With the folenm rights of
heralds, which they introduced, they obferved a fort of law of war and of na-
tions ; as their auguries, and many religious praAices, which to us appear mere
fuperftitions, were evidently engines of their political inftitutions, through which
they may juftly claim to be confidercd as the firft people of Italy, that at-
tempted to form an artfid alliance between religion and the ftatc. In almoft
all thefe things, they were the tutors of Rome : and if it be undeniable, that
fimilar inftitutions contributed to the flability and greatnefs of the roman
power, the romans are indebted principally for this to the etrufcans.
Thefe people purfued navigation likewife as an art, at an early period ; and
maintained, by dicir colonics or trade, the fovereignty of the italian coafts.
They were acquainted with architcfture and fortification : the tufcan column,
more ancient even than the doric of Greece, derives it's name from them, and
was borrowed from no foreign nation. They were fond of chariot-races, theatrical
performances, mufic, and even poetry ; \nd had naturalized the pelafgian fables,
as their monuments of art evince. Thofe remains and fi-agments of their art,
which the proteding realms of the dead have principally tranfmitted to us,
(how, that they rofe from the rudeft beginnings j and afterwards, when ac-
* See Derofter's Etrnr, Riga!., 'Regal Etrum« with the Obrervations of Buonaroti, and Supple«
juent of Pafleriuj/ Florence« 1713, 1767.
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400 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV.
quainted with many nations, even with the greeks, were capable of remaining
true to their own way of thinking. They have aöually a particular ftyle of art * ;
and prefervcd this, as well as the ufe of their religious fables, even when their
liberty was no more -f . Thus, too, in good civil laws for both fexes, and
inftitutions for the cultivation of corn and the vine, the internal fecurity of com-
meroe, the reception of foreigners, and other things, they appear to have con^e
nearer to the rights of man, than even many of the grecian republics at a much
later period : and as their alphabet was the immediate pattern of all thofe of
Europe, we may confider Etruria as the fecond nurfery of the cultivation of our
quarter of the Globe. It is the more to be regretted, that we have fo few monu-
ments or accounts of the exertions of this poliflicd and (kilful people ; for an
unfriendly accident has deprived us even of the immediate hiftory of their
downfal.
Now to what muft we afcribc this flourifhing ftate of Etruria ? and why»
inftead of equalling that of Greece, did it fade before it reached the point of
perfeftion ? Little as we know of the etrufcans, ftill we perceive in them the
grand principle purfued by nature in the forming of nations, limiting them
by their internal powers, and their external circumftances of time and place.
They were an european people, more remote from anciently inhabited Afia, the
parent of early civilization. The pelafgian tribes, too, were half- (avage wan-
derers, when they arrived on the different fliores of Italy; while Greece, on the
contrary, lay as a central point in the conflux of nations already civilized. In
Italy many nations mingled together, fo that the etrurian language feems to
have been a compound of feveral J ; and thus it enjoyed not the advantage of
growing up from an uncontaminated feed. The fingle circumftance of the
Appennines, covered with rude mountaineers, ftretching through the middle of
Italy was fufficient, to prevent that uniformity of national tafte, on which alone
the permanence of a general culture can be founded. Even in later times no
country occafioned more trouble to the romans than Italy : and as foon as their
fovereignty was at an end, it returned to it's natural ftate of various divifion.
The fece of the country with regard to it's mountains and coafts» and the dif-
• See Winkelmann's Gtfchiehte der Kunß, Antiquity freed from fanciful Interpretations ;
Hiftory of the Arts/ Vol. I. chap. 3. and the Monuments of Etrufcan Art rcflored to
f See Heyne on the Nature and Caafes of their proper Age and Rank ; in Nov. ComneM-
the frequent Employment of the Fables and tariis Soc, Goftin^, * The new Memoirs of the
Religion of the Greeks by Etrufcan Artifts; Gottingen Society/ Vol. Ill, and following.
on the Remains of the Religion of the Country % See the Supplement of Paflerius« in ]>emp-
in the Monumenu of Etrufcan Art; Etrufcan fter*! £trur. JttgaL
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Chap. I.] Etrufcans nnd Latins. 40t
fcrent hereditary charafter of it's inhabitants, made this divlfion natural : for
even now, when it is the objedt of politics, to reduce all under one chief, or
link all in one chain, Italy has remained the moft divided country in Europe.
Several nations, likewife, foon preffed upon the etrufcans ; and as they were
more of a commercial than a warlike people, even their more fkilful taftics were
compelled to give way to almoft every attack of ruder nations. By the
gauls they were deprived of their footing in upper Italy, and confined to what
may properly be called Etruria ; and their colonial towns in Campania became
fubfequently a prey to the famnites. As a commercial people addided to the
arts, they could not long ftand s^nft barbarous nations : for arts and com-
merce introduce luxury, from which their colonies on the moft delightful Ihores
of Italy were by no means free. At length they were fallen upon by the romans,
to whom they were unfortunately too near; and whom, in fpite of their noble
refiftance, neither their civilization, nor their federal union, could withftand
for ever. By their refinement, indeed, they were already in part enfeebled, while
the romans were yet a warlike hardy people : and from their confederation they
derived little advantage, as their adveriaries had the art to divide their ftates, and
engage them feparately. Thus they were fubdued one after another, though not
without the labour of many years ; while in the mean time the gauls were
making continual mcurfions upon Etruria. Preffed upon by two powerful ene-
mies, they fell a prey to that, which moft fyftematically purfued their fubjuga-
tion : and this was Rome. After the reception of the haughty Tarquins in
Etruria, and the fuccefs of Porfenna, they looked upon this city as their moft
dangerous neighbour : for the humiliations, which Rome had experienced from
Porfenna, were fuch, as it could never forgive. No wonder, that a rude war-
like people Ihould overpower a foftened commercial nation ; that a city firmly
united (hould fubdue a disjomted confederacy. To prevent Rome from deftroy-
ing it, Rome muft have been early deftroyed : and as the good Porfenna re-
frained from this, his country at length became a prey to the enemy he fpared.
Thus, that the etrufcans never became wholly greeks in the ftyle of their arts»
is to be accounted for from the time and fituation in which they fiouriflied.
Their poetic mythology was merely the old heavy grecian mythology, into which
however they tnfiifed aftonifliing fpirit and animation. The fubjeds, on which
their arts were employed, appear to have been confined to a few religious or civil
feftivities, the key to which we -have nearly loft. Befides, we know little of
tbcfe people except from funerals, graves, and urns. Etrufcan liberty furvived
not to the brighteft era of grecian art, which the conqueft of the perfians pro-
duced i and the fituation of Etruria denied it any fimilar native impulfe, to wing
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401 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [BookXIV.
it's fame and genius to fuch a height. Thus it mud be confidered as an immar
ture fruit, which, placed in the corner of the garden, could not attain the deli-
cious flavour of it's fellows, enjoying the more genial wamith of the Sun. Fatt
allotted a later period to the banks of the Arno» in which they were capable of
producing more mature and beautiful fruits.
The marfliy (hores of the Tiber were already deftined for a fpherc of action,
that fliould include three quarters of the Globe ; and the circumftances of the
times prepared this, long before the foundation of Rome. In tliis region» ac-
cording to ancient ftories, landed Evander ; as did Hercules alfo with his greeks,
and ^neas with his trojans : here, in the centre of Italy, Pallantium was built,
and the kingdom of the latins, with Alba Longa, was founded : here, too, was a
fettlement of more early civilization, infomuch, that fome, indeed, have admitted
a prior Rome, and imagined they have dlfcovered the new city to have beca
crefted on the ruins of one more ancient. But the laft opinion is without
foundation : for Rome v/as probably a colony from Alba Longa, under the di>-
reftion of two fuccefsful adventurers 5 as this undefirable region would fcarcely
have been chofen in other circumftances. Let us examine, however, what Rome
had here before and around her from the beginning, fo that,, the. moment flie
quitted the breaft of the wolf, fhe betook hcrfclf to war and plunder.
She was wholly furrounded by little nations j whence fhe was foon impelled
to contend, not for her fupport alone, but even for her territory. Her early
contefts with the caninenfes, cruftumini, antemnatcs, fabines, camerini,. fide-
nates, veienteSi and others, are well known : they rendered Rome, when fcarcely
rifen above the ground, ftanding thus on the frontiers of fo many different na-
tions, from the very beginning a kind of fortified camp ; and accuftomed tbjc
generals, the fenate, the knights, and the people» to feftivals of triuipph over
plundered countries. Thefe triumphal proceffions, which Rome borrowed from
the neighbouring etrufcans, were the grand lures, that animated this needy
ftate, of confined domains, but populous and warlike, to hoftile enterprifes,
and foreign incurfions. In vain did the peaceful Numa eredt the temples
of Janus and Public Faith: in vain did he fct up terminal gods, and cele-
brate a boundary fcaft. Thefe peaceable inftitutions were obeyed only during
his life : for Rome, accuftomed to plunder by the thirty years victories of her
firft ruler, thought flie could not pay more acceptable homage to her Jove, than
by offering him the fpoils of war. A renovated martial fpirit arofe after this
juft legiflator; and Tullius Hoftilius already made war on Alba Longa, the
mother of his country. Neceffarily nothing of this would have taken place, had
Rome been built in a different fituation, or fpccdily crulhed by fome powerful
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Chap. I.] Elrufcans and Latins. 403
neighbour. But now, as a latin city, (he foon made her way to the head of the
latin confederacy, and at length brought the latins under her yoke ; (he inter-
fered with the fabines, till at laft (he fubjugated them ; (he learned from the
ctrufcans, till (he became their miftrcfs ; and thus (lie acquired pofTeflion of her
triple boundary.
To thcfe early undertakings fuch kings were requifitc as Rome had, particu-
larly her firft. It was no &ble, that Romulus had been nouri(hed by the milk
of a wolf : he was evidently a bold, cunning, hardy adventurer, as his firft laws
and inftitutions (how. His immediate fucccflbr, Numa, rendered fomcof thefe
milder : a clear proof, that they are not to be afcribcd to the times, but to the
perfon by whom they were made. At the fame time the rude heroifm of the
early romans in general appears from the feveral ftories of Horatius Cocles, Ju-
nius Brutus, Mutius Scasvola, and the behaviour of Tullia, Tarquin, &c. It was
fortunate for this predatory ftate, that, in it's feries of kings, rude valour com-
bined with policy, and both with patriotic magnanimity : fortunate, that to a
Romulus fucceeded a Numa, to him a Tullius, an Ancus, after thefe a Tarquin,
and then a Senrius, whom perfonal merit alone could have exalted &om the con«
dition of a flave to the rank of a king. Laftiy, it was fortunate, that thefe kings«
of fuch different characters, reigned long, fo that each had time to fecure the
benefits of his talents to Rome; till at length an arrogant Tarquin came, and
the firmly fixed ftate chofe another form of government. A feleft and conti-
nually renovating fucceffion of warriors and rude patriots now arofe, who (ought
annually to renew their triumphs, and fbrengthen and exert their patriotifm in
a thoufand ways.
Would any one invent a political romance, to account for the origin of a
Rome, he could not eafily devife more fuitable circumftances, than hiftory, or
fable, here gives us *. Rhea Sylvia and the fate of her children, the rape of the
fabines and the apotheoiis of Quirinus, every mde adventure in war and con«
queft, and laftiy a Tarquin and a Lucretia, a Junius Brutus, a Poplicola, a Mu-
tius Scasvola, &c., ferve to indicate a feries of future confequences in the early
difpofition of Rome itfelf. There is no hiftory on which it is eafier to philofo-
phize than the roman, as the political fpirit of it's writers points out the chain
of caufes and efTefts in the courfe of events and adkions.
• Montefquiea, in hit elegant work on the Machiavel, Parata, and many other fagacio«
grandeur and decline of the romans, hai almoft italiani, had tried their (kill in political reflec«
exalted it into a political romance. Before him, tloni upon it.
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/04 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XIV.
CHAPTER n.
Tie DifpofitioHS of Rome for afovereign foliiical and militarj State.
Romulus numbered his pec^le, and divided them into tribes, curis, and
centuri« : he meafured the knd, and parcelled it out to the people, the ftate,
and the fervice of religion. The people he diftinguifhed into patricians and ple-
beians ; out of the patricians he formed the fenatev and to the fame order he
confined the principal offices of the date, and the fan£kity of the priefthood. He
likewüc felefted a body of knights, which in a later period formed a kind of
middle xank between the fenate and people ', and the two grand divifions were
more clofely connefted by the relationfliip of patron and client. From the etruf-
eans Romulus borrowed the liäors, with their fafces ; a fearful emblem of au-
thority, which every fuperiour magiftrate afterwards aflumed in the funäions of
his office, though with (bme variations. He excluded foreign gods, to fecure to
Rome it's own tutelar divinity : he introduced augury, and other kbds of
fbothfaying, eflablifhii^ an intimate connexion between the popular religion^
and civil and military affairs. He determined the reciprocal duties of hufband
and wife, &ther and fon, regulated the city, celebrated triumphs, was at length
murdered, and afterwards adored as a god.
Behold the fimple point, on which the wheel of roman events afterwards in-
cefTantly revolved. For though in time the claffes of the pec^le were increafcd,
altered, or oppofed to each other; though bitter contefts arofe, whether the
clafles or tribes of the people, and which of them, (hould take the lead ^ though
the increafing debts of the plebeians, and the oppreffions of the rich, occafioned
commotions, and many attempts were made for alleviating the burdens of the
people by means of tribunes, agrarian laws, or the adminiftration of juftice by a
middle rank, the knights ; though difputes refpefting the limits of the fenate, the
patricians, and the plebeians, aflumed now one form, then another, till the two
ranks wei« confounded together : in all this we perceive nothing more than the
neceflary confequences of a rudely compofed living machine, fuch as the roman
ftate within the walls of one city muft have been. Thus fuperiour offices were
augmented, as the number of citizens, victories, conquered lands, and neceffities
of the fbite increafed ; thus triumphs, games, expcnfes, marital power, and pa-
ternal authority, were limited or enlarged, according to the different fb^ of
manners and opinions : all however were (hades of that ancient conftitution.
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Crap. IL] Difpoßtions of Rome for a fivereign political and military State. 405
which Romulus invented not, it is true, but which he fo firmly eftablifhed,
that it was capable of remaining the bafis of the roman form of government
even under the emperours, nay almoft to the prefent day. It's device was
S. P. Q. R. *, the fcnate and people of Rome ; magic words, which fubju-
gatcd and ravaged the World, and at length rendered the romans the inftru-
ments of their own ruin. Let us contemplate a few leading points in the ro-
man conftitution, from which the fete of Rome appears to have branched out,
as a tree from it's roots.
1. The roman fenatey as well as the roman people^ waSyfrom the earließ times-y a
body of warriors : Rome^ from it's higheßy to it's loweß member in cafe of neceßty,
was a military ßate. The fcnate was a deliberative council; but from it's pa-
tricians it fupplied generals and ambafladors : the independent citizen was ob-
liged to ferve in the field from his feventeenth year to his forty-fixth^or fiftieth.
He who had not made ten campaigns was ineligible to any of the higher offices.
Hence the political fpirit of the romans in the field : hence their military fpirit
in the council. Their deliberations were on affairs, with which they were fami-
liar: their refolves were afts. A roman ambalTador was an objefl of refpecft
to kings : for he might be at the head of an army, and decide the fate of king-
doms either in the fenate or in the field. The people of the higher centuriae
were by no means a rude mob : they confiftcd of men of property, experienced
in war, and foreign and domeftic affairs. The votes of the poorer centuriae had
lefs weight ; and in the better times of Rome their members were not thought
qualified for the army.
2. The education of the romans j particularly in the nobler families^ was calculated
for this deßination. They learned to deliberate, fpeak, vote, and perfuade the
people : they went early to the field, and prepared the way to triumphs, ho-
nours, and offices of ftate. Hence the uniform chanufter of the hiftory and
eloquence of the romans, and even of their jurifprudencc and religion, philofo-
phy and language : all breathe a political and aftive fpirit, a manly, adventu-
rous courage, united with addrefs and urbanity. A wider difference can fcarcely
be conceived, than appears on comparifon of the hiftory and eloquence of
China, or Judea, with thofe of Rome. From the fpirit of the greeks, too, the
fpartans themfelves not excepted, that of Rome is diftinft ; as it is founded on
a rougher nature, more ancient habit, and principles more fixed* Tlic roman
fcnate never died : it's refolutions, it's maxims, and the roman charaAer inhe-
rited from Romulus, were immortal.
* SnuUuf fo^uJuf jut r9mMiuf*
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4o6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIV
3. The roman generals were frequently confuls^ whofe military and civil offices
nfually continued hit a year: accordingly they haftcncd to return triumphant,
and their fucccflbrs were eager to emulate their honours. Hence the incredible
progrefs and multiplication of roman wars : one fprung from another, and gave
rife to another in it's turn. Occafions for future campaigns were referred, till the
prefcnt was ended ; and referved to accumulate with ufury, as a capital of fpoil,
fuccefs, and glory. Hence the intereft the romans fo greedily took in foreign
nations ; on which they forced themfelves as allies and protedlors, or as judges
of diiFerences, certainly not fix)m motives of philanthropy. Their friendly al-
liances were the relation of a guardian to a ward; their advice was command;
their decifion, war or fovereignty. More cool haughtinefs, and latterly fliame-
lefs impudence, in the exercife of authority aflumed by force, were never dif-
played, than by tbefe romans, who thought the World was theirs, and made
for them alone.
4. The roman foldier toofliared the gloty nnd reward of Ids commander. In the
carlj' ages of Rome's patriotic virtues the foldiers fcrved without pay; and af-
terwards it was fparingly diftributed : but out of it's conquefts, and the increafed
power of the people by means of the tribunes, grew pay, reward, and booty.
The lands of tlie conquered were often divided among the (bldiery ; and it is
well known, that the mod ancient and numerous quarrels in the roman re-
public arofe from the diftribution of lands. Subfequently, in foreign conquefts
the foldier (bared the booty ; and participated the triumph of his general, both in
glory and valuable donations. Civic, mural, and roftral crowns were conferred :
and Lucius Dentatus could boaft, * that, having been in a hundred and twenty
battles, eight times viftorious in fingle combat, wounded forty five times be-
fore, and not once behind, he had di farmed his enemy five and thirty times,
and been rewarded with eighteen hqßa furse^ twenty five fets of borie furniture,
eighty three chains, a hundred and iixty bracelets, and twenty fix crowns,
namely, fourteen civic, eight golden, three mural, and one obfidional, befide
money, ten prifoners, and twenty oxen.'
As befide this, the point of honour in our {landing armies, where no one
ever fer\'es in a rank inferiour to what he has once bom, and every one is pro-
moted in turn, according to the date of his fervice, was imknown in the roman
(late even to the lateft period ; but the general chofe his own tribunes, and
the tribune his fubordinate officers, at the commencement of a war : a more
free competition for pofts of honour and military employments was opened, and
a more intimate connexion between the general, the officers, and the foldicry,
was formed. The whole army was a body felcftcd for the campaign, and the
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Chap. IL] Difpoßtions of Rome for a fovereign political and military State, 407
fpirit of the general was infufed into every member of it, by thofe who com-
manded under him. In proportion as the wall, that at the commencement of
the republic feparated the patricians and plebeians, was broken down in the
courfe of time, valour and fuccefs in war became the road to honours, wealth,
and power, for all ranks ; fo that in later times the firft pofleffors of undivided
power in Rome, Marius and Sylla, were plebeians *", and at length the highofi
dignities were obtained by the meaneft perfons. Unqueftionably this was the
ruin of Rome ^ as, in the b^inning of the republic, patrician pride was it's
lupport i and it was only by degrees, that the haughtinefs and oppreflfion exer-
cifed by men of rank became the caufes of all the internal diffenfions that en-
fued. To eftablilh an equilibrium between the fenate and the people, the pa-
tricians and plebeians, was the perpetual bone of contention in the roman ftate ;
where the balance preponderating now to one fide, then to the other, at length
overturned the commonwealth.
5, Roman virtus^ fo highly celebrated^ is for the moß fart inexplicable^ without
thenarrowyfevere corip.itution of the roman fate : when this was gone, that was. at
an end. The confuls fucceeded in the place of the kings, and were compelled,
as it were, in imitation of ancient example, to difplay fomething more than
a royal, to difplay a roman foul. All the magiftrates, the cenfors efpecially,
participated this fpirit. We are aftoniftied at the ftrid- impartiality, the
difintereftcd magnanimity, the bufy lives, of the ancient romans, from the
moment their day broke, nay before the break of day, even from the ear-
lieft peep of dawn» No ftate in the World probably went fo far in this
eameftnefs of application, this ftrift difcharge of civic duties, as Rome,
where all was in clofe comtaft. The noblenefs of their families, which
was honourably defignated by patronymic names j dangers continually re-
newed from without, and inceffant contefts for an equilibrium between the
patricians and plebeians within ; again, the bond of union between both in the
relationfliip of patron and client; the crowded intercourfe with each other in the
market places, in their houfes, and in political temples j the fine yet diftinft
limits between what belonged to the fenate, and what to the people ; their fim-
plicity in domeftic life ; and the education of youth in a familiarity with all
thefc things from their infancy ; contributed to form in the romans the firft
and proudeft natloaof the World. Their nobility was not, as among others, an
indolent nobility, founded on landed pofleffions, on wealth, or on a name : it
was a proud, family, civic, roman fpirit, in the firft races j on which their country
depended as it's firmeft fupport ; and in the continued adlivity, the permanent
flrcam of the fame eternal ftate, it was tranfmitted from father to fon. I am
* Sulla was a patrician. F«
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4o8 PHILOSOPHT OF HISTORY. [Boc« XIV,
perfuaded, that» in the mod perilous times» no roman could conceive any idea
of the deftrudion of Rome : all aded for their city» as if the gods had deftined
it to be immortal, and them to be the inftruments of the gods for fupportii^
it to eternity. But as the aftoniftiing fuccefs of the romans converted their va-
lour into infolence, Scipio could not help applying to his country, on the
deftruftion of Carthage, thofe verfes of Homer, in which the fate of Troy is
predided *.
6. Tie manner in tvhich religion was i*iterwoven with the ßate in Rome un-
qncßionably contributed to it's civil and military greatnefs. As from the foundation
of the city, and in the mod valiant ages of the republic, the priefthood was in the
hands of the moft refpeftable families, who were at the fame time ftatefmen and
warriors, (b that even the emperours themfelves difdained not to execute it's
fimftions j in all their ceremonies they guarded againft the true peft of every
national religion, contempt, which the fenate employed it's utmoft endeavours
to obviate. Accordingly, that able politician Polybius afcribes part of the ratues
of the romans, particularly their incorruptible faith and veracity, to religion, by
him termed fuperftition : and even in the late ages of their decline, the romans
were adtually fo addi&ed to this fuperftition, that fome commanders, of the moft
ferocious diipofition, profefled themfelves to liave communication with the
gods y and believed, that, by their infpiration and affiftance, they had not only
power over tlie minds of the people and the army, but even the control of chance
and fortune. Religion was conneded with every civil and military tranfaftion, fo
as to fandify it ; and hence the noble families contended with tlie people for the
pofleflion of religious dignities, as for their moft lacred privilege. Tliis is com-
monly afcribed to their policy alone, as their aufpices and harulpices put into
their hands the diredion of affairs by means of artful religious deceptions : but,
though I will not deny, that thefe were occafionally pradifed, this certainly was
not the whole of the bufinefs. The worfliip of their fathers, and of the gods of
Rome, was, according to the general belief, the fupport of their good fortune,
the pledge of their preeminence over other nations, and the revered (knduary of
their unparagoned ftate. As at the beginning they adopted no ftrange gods,
though they refpcded the deities of every foreign land, fo they retained the an-
cient worlhip of their divinities, in which they became romans. To alter any
thing in this, was to derange the fundamental pillars of the ftate : hence in the
regulation of religious ceremonies the fenate and people maintained their fo-
vereign rights, which precluded all the plots and fubtleties of a feparate prieft-
hood. The religion of the romans was a civil and military religion; which did
not guai'd them, indeed, from unjuft wars, but, giving them at leaft an appear-
• They are pronoanced by Hedtor, in his interview with Andromaclie. Iliad, z. 447. feq. F.
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Chap. IL] Difpoßtms of Korne for afeverelpt political and military State, 409
ance of juftice by means of their feciales and aulpices, placed them under the
eyes of the gods, and claimed their afSftancc.
At a later period it was equally politic in the romans, abandoning their an-
cient princi[.ks, to allure to them foreign deities. Their ftate already began to
totter, as, after immenfe conquells, was inevitable : but this politic toleration
prc'eived it from the fpirit of perfecuting foreign religions, which firft appeared
under the emperors, by whom it was exercifcd only occafionally from political
motives, and not from hatred or affeftion to fpeculative truth. Upon the whole,
the romans troubled themfelves about no religion, unlefs fo far as it attacked
the ftate : in this refpeft they were not men and philofophers, but citizens, fol-
diers, and conquerors.
7. What (hall I fay of the roman art of war y certainly at that time the moft
perfeft of it's kind, as it united the foldier and citizen, the ftatefman and ge-
neral, and ever vigilant, ever pliable and new, acquired knowledge from every
enemy ? It*s rude foundations were of equal antiquity with the city itfelf, the
citizens that Romulus muftered forming the firft legion : but they were not
afliamed in time to alter the primitive arrangement of the army, to render the
ancient phalanx lefs unwieldy, and thus, by imparting to it a greater capacity
for adtion, to difcomfit the veteran macedonians, whofe order of battle was tlien
reckoned the model of the military art. Inftead of their ancient latin arms, they
borrowed fuch as fuited them from the etrufcans and famnites; and they
learned the regulation of marches from Hannibal, whofe long refidence in Italy
gave them the fevereft leffons of war they had ever received. All their great
commanders, among whom are to be reckoned the Scipios, Marius, Sylla,
Pompey, and Csefar, ftudied war as an art during the whole of their lives : and
as they had to carry it on againft the moft various nations, nations too afting
valiantly from ftrength, courage, and defpair, they neceflarily made great pro-
grefs in every branch of the fcience.
The might of the romans however confifted not wholly in their weapons,
their order of battle, and their encampments ; but in the imperturbable martial
fpirit of their generals, and in the tried ftrength of the foldier; who could brave
hunger, thirft, and peril j who was as ready at the ufe of his weapons, as if they
had been his own limbs ; and who, ftanding firm againft the fliock of the fpear,
with his fliort roman fword in hii hand, fouglit the heart of his enemy even in
the midft of the phalanx. This ftjort roman fword, wielded with roman valour,
conquered the World. It was the roman art of war to attack rather than de-
fend, to fight rather than befiege, and to take the fhorteft, ftraighteft way to
viftory and jame. To the affiftance of this came the inveterate principles of the
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4IO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIV.
republic, to which all refiftance proved vain : never to defift till the enemy
was completely overthrown, and therefore to engage only with one enemy at
a time ; never to accept peace in misfortune, even if peace would give more
than viftory could obtain, but to ftand firm, and act fo much the more bravely
againft the fucccfsful vidtor; to begin with magnanimity, and the mafk of dif-
intereftednefs, as if they fought only to fuccour the oppreffed, and gain ali.es,
till in time they were enabled to rule their allies, opprefs the fuccoured, and tri-
umph as viftors over friend and foe. Thefe and fimilar maxims of roman info-
lence, or, if you pleafe, of cool, prudent magnanimity, reduced a world
of nations to the ftate of provinces : and fo they ever would, if fimilar times, and
a fimilar people, could arife.
Let us now traverfe the bloody field, through which thefe conquerors of the
World waded, and examine what tlKiy have left behind them.
CHAPTER III.
Conquejis of the Romans.
When Rome began it's career of heroifm, Italy was covered with a number
of little nations ; each living according to it's own laws, and hereditary cha-
rafter ; more or lefs enlightened ; but aftive, induftrious, prolific. We arc
aftoniftied at the number of men, that every little ftate, even in rude moun-
tainous regions, was able to bring againft the romans ; men who had there
found, and could ftlll find fubfiftence. The civilization of Italy was by no means
confined to Etruria ; it was ftiared by every little people» the gauls themfelvcs
not excepted : the land was cultivated ; rude arts, trade, and war, were purfiied
after the manner of the times 4 no ftate was without good laws, though few in
number; and even the natural regulation of the balance of power between dif-
ferent ftates was not unknown. Impelled by pride or neceffity, and favoured by
various circumftances, the romans were engaged with them in arduous, bloody
wars, for five centuries ; fo that all the reft of the World that they fubdued coft
them lefs trouble, than this little chain of people, which they gradually brought
under the yoke.
And what were the confequences of their exertions ? Ravage and deftruöion.
I do not reckon the men flain on both fides ; and witn the lofs of whom whole
nations, as the famnites and etrufcans, were fwept away : the obliteration of
thefe communities, and the deftrudion of their towns, were misfortunes of
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Chap. HI.] Cwfi^s of the Rmafis* 41 1
greater magnitude to thb country, becaufe affeding rcmotcft poftcrity. Whe-
ther thefe nations were traniplanted to Rome, or their fad remains reckoned in
the number of it's allies, or treated as fubjefts and bridled by colonies, their pri-
mitive energy was never reftored. Once chained to Rome's brazen yoke, they
were compelled, for centuries, as fubjedks or allies,, to fpill their blood in her
fcrvice, and for her profit and glory, not their own. Once chained to this yoke,
notwithftanding all the privileges conferred on this people, or on that, every in-
dividual was at lad reduced to feek fortune, honour, wealth, and juftice, m Rome
alone J fo that in a few centuries the great city became the grave of Italy. Soon
or late the laws of Rome univerfally prevailed j the manners of Rome became
the manners of Italy j her mad aim to acquire the fovereignty of the World en-
ticed all thefe people to throng round her, and at length perifli in the gulf of
roman luxury. No denial, no reftri&ion, no prohibition, was capable at laft of
affording any aid : for the courfe of nature, once turned out of it's direftion,
cannot be altered afterwards at will by human laws.
Thus by decrees Rome drained, enervated, and depopulated Italy ; fo that at
length rude barbarians were requifite, to give it new people, new laws, new man«
ners, and new courage. But what was no more, returned not again : Alba and
Cameria, the wealthy Veil, and moil of the etrurian, latin, famnite, and apulian
cities were deftroyed : the fcanty colonies, planted amid their alhes, liad re«
ftored to none their ancient dignity, numerous population, induftry in arts, laws
and manners. It was the fame with all the flourifhmg republics of Gnecia
Magna : Tarentum and Croton, Sybarb and Cumse, Locri and Thurium,
Rhegium and MeiTana, Syracufe, Catania, Naxus, Megara, were no more ; and
many of them had experienced the fevereft fate. Thou, wife and great Ar-
chimedes, wafl (lain in the midft of thy geometrical labours i and it is no wonder,
that thy grave remained unknown to thy more modern countrymen, fince thy
country was buried with thee; for the flate pcri(hed, though the city was fpared.
The mtfchief done to the arts and fciences, to the cultivation of the foil and the
improvement of the human mind, by the dominion of Rome In this corner of the
World, is incredible. Wars and proconfuls laid wafte the delightful ifle of'Sicily $
and Lower Italy was ruined by the various ravages committed in it, thotigh ftill
more by it's proximity to Rome; till at length both countries were parcelled
out into eftates and country feats of the romans, while they were likewife the
nearefl objeds of their extortion. The once flourifhing land of Etruria was al-
ready in a fimilar iituation, in the time of the elder Gracchus : a fertile folitude,
inhabited only fay Haves, and drained by the romans« And what fine coimtry in
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411 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV.
the World experienced a better fate, when once within the gripe of lonuui
talons ?
\Vhen Rome had fubjugated Italy, (he began with Carthage ; and this in a
manner, at which her moft determined friends muft blufh. Her affifting the
mamertines, in order to gain footing in Sicily j her feizing upon Corfica and
Sardinia, while Carthage was embroiled with her mercenaries ; and laftly, the
deliberating of her grave fenators, whether a Carthage were to be fuffered to
exift upon the Earth, with as little ceremony as if the debate had been on a
cabbage of their own planting; with a hundred inftances of like nature ; render
the roman ^.i{lo^y, with all the valour and addrefs it difplays, a hiftory of
demons. Be it Scipio himfelf, that prefents to a Carthage, little capable of
doing farther injury to Rome, praying even her aid with the offer of an ample
tribute, and, trufting to her promifes, delivering up her weapons, (hips, arfenals,
and three hundred of her principal inhabitants as hoftages ; be it Scipio, or a
god, that prefents to her, in fuch a fituation, the cold, haughty propofal of
her dcftnidHon, as a decree of the fenate i it is (till a black, devili(h propofal,
of whicli unqueftionably the noble deliverer himfelf was afliamed. ^ Carthage
is taken,' he writes back to Rome s as if with this expreffion he would veil his
infamous a£t : for never have the romans given, or been the means of giving
to the World, fuch a Carthage. Even an enemy to Carthi^e, aware of all
it's vices and dcfedts, beholds with anger it's deftruftion ; and refpefts the
Carthaginians at leaft when he beholds them as difarmed, betrayed republicans,
fighting on their graves, and fighting for a bur)'ing place.
Why was it denied thee, thou great, thou matcblefs Hannibal, to prevent
thy country's ruin, and march direftly to the wolfs den of thy hereditary fbc,
immediately after the battle of Cann« ? Weak pofterity, that never crofTed
the Alps and Pyrenees, condemns thee for this j not reflefting on the people
whom thou hadft under thy command, and on the condition in which, after
the terrible winter campaign in Upper and Middle Italy, they muft have been.
It condemns thee, from the mouth of thy enemies, for want of military difci-
pline : though it is almoft incomprehenfible, how thou couldft keep together
thy mercenaries fo long, and after fuch marches and fuch aAions, reft not till
thou hadft reached the plains of Canipania. Renown will ever deck the name
of this brave enemy of Rome, whom (he more than once impcnoufly demanded,
to be delivered up to her as fome engine of war. Not fate, but the fadious
avarice of his countrymen, prevented him from completing that viftory, which
he, not Carthage, had obtained over Rome : and thus he was incapable of
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Ch A P • III.] Conqueßs of the Romans. 413
becoming more than an inflxument for inftrufting the romans in the art of war,
as they had learned that of navigation wholly from his countrymen. In both
fate has given us a fearful warning, never to flop (hort of the full completion
of our purpofes j otherwife we (hall certainly promote, what we are endeavouring
to prevent. Suffice it, that with Carthage fell a ftate, which the romans could
never replace. Commerce deferted it's coafts ; and pirates fucceeded, as they
ever will, to the Ihorcs that commerce had abandoned. Under the roman
colonies Africa ceafed to be that horn of plenty, which it had long been under
Carthage : it was a granary for the people of Rome alone, a menagerie of wild
beads for their amufement, and a magazine of flaves. Defolate to this moment
lie the fliorcs and plains of that fine country, which the romans firft robbed of
It's internal culture. Even every line of the punic writings is loft to us : ^mi-
lianus prefented them to the grandchildren of Mafiniffa ; one enemy of Car-
thage, to another.
Whatever way I turn my eyes from Carthage, devaftation rifes before them ;
for this ever marked the footfteps of thefe conquerors of the World. Had
the romans really intended to be the deliverers of Greece, when they announced
themfelves under this proud name at the ifthmian games to the greeks now
funk into childhood, how different would have been their conduft ! But when
Paulus jEinilius permitted fcventy cities of Epirus to be defpoiled, and a
hundred and fifty thouland perfons to be fold for Haves, merely to reward his
army j when MetcUus and Silanus ravaged and plundered Macedon, Mummius
Corinth, and Sylla Athens and Delphos, as fcarcely any cities in the World
had been plundered ; when this dcvaflation was fpread likewife through the
grecian iflands, and Rhodes, Cyprus, Crete, experienced no better fete than
Greece, namely that of becoming fourccs of tribute, and magazines of fpoil to
deck the triumphs of the romans; when the lafl king of Macedon was led in
triumjih with his fons, languifhed in the moft Vi/retched prifon, whilft one fon
efcaped death only to gain his livelihood as a fkilful turner and fcribe at Rome;
when the laft glimmering of gi'ecian liberty, the aetolian and achaian league,
was extinguiflied, and the whole country became a roman province, or a field
of carnage, on which the plundering, ravaging armies of the triumvirs at length
engaged each other: O Greece, what an end was referved for thee by thy pro-
teörefs, thy pupil, Rome, the tutorefs of the World ! Nothing remains of thee
but ruins, which the barbarous fpoilers carried away with them in triumph, that,
at a fubfequent period, whatever the art of man had invented might perifh
amid the allies of their own city.
From Greece let us fteer our courfe (o the fhores of Afia and Africa. Into
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4t4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV.
the kingdoms of Afia Minor, Syria, Pontus, Armenia, and Egj'pt, the romans
foon intruded ; either as heirs, or as guardians, umpires, and pacificators : but
hence, as a juft reward for their fervices, they drew the poifon, tliat proved fatal
to their own conftitution. The great military exploits of Scipio Afiaticus,
Manlius, Sylla, LucuUus, and Pompey, are known to every one ; to the lad
of whom was decreed a triumph at one time over fifteen conquered kingdoms,
eight hundred cities, and a thoufand fortreflcs. The gold and filver difplaycd
in folemn pomp on the occafion were eftimated at twenty thoufand talents * ;
he augmented the revenues of the ftatc a third part, to the amount of twelve
thoufand talents -f^ ; and his whole army was fo enriched, that the meaneft foldier
received from him as a triumphant gift to the value of more than thirty pounds
flerling, befide what he had already acquired as booty. What a robber! Craflus,
who plundered Jerufalem alone of ten thoufand talents J, purfued the lame
ftepsj and no one penetrated ferther into the eaft, without returning, if he did
return, Uden with wealth and luxury. What by way of compenfation did the
romans beftow on the afiatics ? Neither laws, nor peace ; neither inftitutions, nor
arts, nor people. Tliey ravaged countries, burned libraries, defpoiled cities,
temples, and altars. Part of the alexandrian library was given to the flames
by Julius Caefar ; and Mark Antony beftowed the greater portion of that of
Pergamus on Cleopatra, that both might afterwards periQi together. Thus
the romans, endeavouring to fpread day over the World, wrapped it in defo-
lating night : treafures of gold and filver were extorted : nations, and myriads
of ancient ideas, were whelmed in the abyfs : the charaders of countries were
obliterated, and the provinces were drained, plundered, and abufed, under a
fuccefSon of execrable emperors.
With almoft yet more melancholy do I bend my courfe weftwards to the
ravaged countries of Spain, Gaul, and wherever the romans ftretched their
arms. The nations they deftroycd in the eaft for the moft part had already
bloflbmed, and begun to fade : here, yet unripe, but full of buds, they were fo
injuiipd in their firft youthftil growth« that the race and family of many are
fcarcely to be diftinguiflied. Spain, before the romans entered it, was a well-
cultivated, and in moft places fertile, rich, and happy land. It's trade was
confiderable -, and the ftate of civilization among fome of it's people by no
means to be defpifed ; of which the turdetani, on the banks of the Baetis» to
whom the phenicians and Carthaginians had been longeft known, and even the
ccltiberians, in the heart of the country, arc fufficient proofe. No place upon
• Aboat 3800000 ^ flerling. | Aboat 1900000^.
f About aaSoooo £.
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Chap. III.] Conqueßs of the Romans. 41 ^
Earth more ftoutly refifted the romans than the brave Numantia. For twenty
years it fupported the war j defeated one roman anny after another ; and at laft
defended itfelf againft all the military fkill of a Scipio, with a valour, the melan-
choly fate of which excites the commiferation of every reader. And what did
the defpoilers feek here, in an inland country, from nations that had never
given them offence, and fcarcely heard of their names ? Gold and filver mines.
Spain was to them, what America is now forced to be to Spain, a place for
plunder. Lucullus, Galba, and others, plundered in contempt of the faith
tliey had pledged : the fenatc itfelf annulled two treaties of peace, which it's
defeated generals had been fain to conclude with the numantines. It inhu-
manly delivered up to them the generals -, but was again overcome by the
numantines in generofity to thefe unfortunate commanders. And now Scipio
appeared with all his force before Numantia ; completely blockaded it j cut
off the right arms of four hundred young men, the only perfons who would
come to the affiftance of this injured town j liftened not to the moving intrea-
ties, with which a people oppreffed by famine endeavoured to excite his pity
and juftices and completed the deftrudlion of thefe unhappy beings like a
true roman. Like a true roman, too, afted Tiberius Gracchus ; when in the
country of the celtiberians alone he ravaged three hundred towns, even if we
fuppofe them to have been nothing more than fortreffes and villages. Hence
the inextinguifliable hatred of the fpaniards toward the romans : hence the
valiant exploits of Viriatus and Sertorius, both of whom fell by unworthy means,
and undoubtedly excelled many roman commanders in military ikill and cou-
rage : hence the fcarcely ever fubdued mountaineers of the Pyrenees, who, in
dcfpite of the romans, retained their favage ftate as long as ])ofiible. Unfor-
tunate land of gold, Iberia, thou, with thy culture, and thy nations, art funk
almofl unknown into the realm of fliades, in which Homer already depifted thee,
beneath the rays of the fetting Sun, as a fubterranean kingdom.
Of Gaul we have little to fay, as we know nothing of it's conqueft, but from
the military journal of it's conqueror. For ten years it coft Caefar himfelf
incredible pains, and required all the powers of iii^ great mind. Though he
excelled every other roman In generofit)', ftill he was unable to change the fate
of his roman dcftination, and gained the melancholy praife of having been
engaged in Mty pitched battles, not reckoning the civil wars, and having flain
in fight eleven hundred and ninety two ihoufand men. Moft of thefe wercgauls.
Where are the numerous, lively, valiant people of this extenfive country?
where were their fj^irit and courage, their numbers and flrcngth, when centu-
ries after favage nations fell upon them, and (liared tlicm among themfelvcs
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4t6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book XIV.
as roman flaves ? Even the name of this leading ftock of people, with it's
peculiar religion, cultivation, and language, is obliterated througliout the whole
of the countrj', that became a roman province. You great and noble minds,
Scipio and Cafar, what are your thoughts, what your feelings, when now, as
departed fpirits, you look down from your celeftial fphcres on Rome, that
neft of robbers, and the fcenes of your murders i How foul to you muft
appear your honour, how bloody your laurels, how bafe and inhuman your
exterminating arts ! Rome is no more : and when it did cxift, the feelings of
every worthy man muft have whifpered to him, that all thefe monftrous, ambi-
tious vidories would call down vengeance and dcftrudtion on his country.
CHAPTER IV.
Tie Decline of Rome,
'Fhe law of retaliation is an eternal ordinance of nature. As in a balance nei-
ther fcale can be depreffed without the afcent of the other; fo no political equi-
librium can be deftroyed, no fin againft the rights of nations and of mankind
can be committed, without avenging itfelf ; and the more the meafure is heaped,
the more tremendous will be it's fall. If any hiftory proclaim to us this na-
tural truth, it is the hiftory of Rome : but let the reader extend his views, and
not confine them to a fingle caufe of the ruin of that ftate. Had the romans
never beheld Greece or Afia, and proceeded after the manner in which they did
againft other poorer countries j undoubtedly their fall would have happened at a
different period, and under different circumftances : ftill it would have been
equally inevitable. The feeds of deftruftion lay in the heart of the plant ; the
worm gnawed it's roots, and it's vital juices were corrupted : the gigantic tree,
therefore, muft ultimately fäll to the ground.
I. In the effence of the roman conftitution was a leaven of diffcnfion, which,
if not removed, could not fail foon or late to effeft it's deftxuftion : this was tie
difpoßtion of theßate iifelf the unjuß or uncertain limits betiveen thefenate^ the knights^
and the citizens. It was impoffible for Romulus to forefee all the future cirnini-
flances of his city, when he eftabliflied this divifion ; he formed it according to
it's prefent ftate and wants ; as thefe altered, he himfelf loft his life by the
hands of thofe, to whom his power became burdenfome. None of his fucccffors
had courage, or occafion, to do what Romulus had not done : they gave a pre-
ponderance to either party by their pcrfonal authority, and preferved an unioa
between the different ranks in a rude ftate furrounded with dangers. Scnrius
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Chap. IV.] The Bedtne of Rome. 417
muftered the people, and put the balance in the hands of the rich. Under the
firft confuls dangers were extremely preffing : at the fame time men of fuch
merit, ftrength, and grcatnefs, were confpicuous among the patricians, that
they could not fail to lead the people.
But circumftanccs foon changed j and the oppreffion of the nobles became
infupportable. The citizens were overwhelmed with debt : they had too little
fhare in the legiflation ; they reaped too little advantages from the vlftories, for
which their blood was fpilled : fo the people retired to the Sacred Mount, and
fo difputes arofe, which the appointment of tribunes was calculated rather to'
multiply than remove, and with which the whole fubfequent hiftory of Rome
was accordingly interwoven. Hence the long and frequently renewed contefts
relpcfting the divifion of lands, and the participation of the plebeians in magifte-
rial, confular, and facerdotal ofBccsj in which contefts each party fought it's
own ends, and no one attempted an unbiaffed and equitable adjuftment of the
interefts of both. This contention furvived even to the triumvirates : nay the
triumvirates themfelves were confequences of it. Now as thefe put an end to
the whole of the roman conftitution, and this contention was nearly as old as the
republic itfelf j it appears, that it arofe from no external circumftances, but
from an internal caufe, which from the beginning corroded the vitals of the
date. It is Angular, therefore, that the roman conftitution (hould have been
reprefented as a pattern of perfeftion : a conftitution one of the moft imperfeft
in the World, originating from crude temporary circumftances, and never after-
wards reformed from a general comprehenfive view of the whole, but partially
altered from time to time. Csefar alone was capable of giving it a radical
reform : but it was too late, and the dagger, that deprived him of life, de-
ftroyed all poflibility of an improved conftitution.
2. There is an inconfiftency in the pofition : Rome, the queen of nations,
Rome the fovereign of the World : for Rome was merely a city ; and tYs conßiiu-
iiofty the conßitution of a city alone. That Rome's refolves for war, however, were
the refolves of an immortal fenate, not of a mortal king ; while the fpirit of it's
world -deftroying maxims was naturally more durable in a college, than in a
fluÄuating feries of rulers i unqueftionably contributed to it's perfevcring ob-
flinacy in war, aad confequently to it's victories. Bcfidcs, the patricians and
plebeians were almoft always at variance ; fo that the fenate found it neceflary to
create wars, for the puri-)ofe of employing the unruly multitude, or fome turbu-
lent leader, abroad, that peace might be prefen^ed at home. Thus this perma-
nent variance contributed greatly to the continuance of foreign devaftation.
Laftly, as the fenate itfelf was often clofely befet with dangers, and frequently
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4i8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV,
found viftorics, or the fame of viftorics, neccffary for it's fupport ; and as every
daring patrician, who wifhed the people to efpoufe his caufc, ftood in need of
donations, games, celebrity, and triumphs, which war alone, or for the moft part,
could furnißi ; this divided, reftlefs government was a caufc of difturbing the
peace of the World, and keeping it in commotion for centuries : for, out of re-
gard to it's own happinefs, no orderly ftate, tranquil in itfelf, would have been
the aftor of fuch a fearful tragedy.
To make conquefts, however, is one thing ; to retain them, another : one
thing, to gain viftories ; another, to render them of advantage to the flate.
Rome, from it's internal conftitution, was never capable of the latter : and the
former it was enabled to do only by means altogether inimical to the conftitu-
tion of a city. Already the firft kings, that applied their arms to conqueft, were
compelled to admit fome of the conquered towns and nations within the walls
of Rome j that the feeble tree, which was defirous of (hooting forth fuch enor-
mous branches, might acquire roots, and a fubftantial trunk : thus the inhabi-
tants of Rome increafed alarmingly. The city afterwards formed alliances, and
it's allies joined it's armies in the field: fo that they took part in it's viäories
and conquefts, and were romans, though they were neither citizens nor inhabi-
tants of Rome. Hence foon arofe warm contefts on the part of the allies for
admiffion to the rights of citizenßiip : a demand inevitable from the nature of
the cafe. Hence arofe the firft focial war, which coft Italy three hundred
thoufand of it's youths, and brought Rome, which had been obliged to arm
even it's freedmen, to the brink of deftruftion: for it was a war between the
head and the members, which terminated only by the confolidation of the
members into this mifshapcn head. All Italy was now become Rome, which
continued to fpread itfelf, to the great difturbance of the World. I (hall pais
over the diforder, which this romanizing muft have introduced into the laws of
all the italian ftates -, and only notice the evils, that thenceforward flowed from
all corners, and from every region, into Rome.
If there were previoully fuch a conflux to this city, as rendered it fo impoffi-
ble, to keep the tables of the cenfus uncontaminated, that even a man, who
was no roman citizen, was eleded conful -, how muft it have been, when the
head of the World was a mixed mob from all Italy -, the moft monftrous head,
that Earth ever bore i Immediately on the death of SyUa, the lords of the
World amounted to four hundred and fifty thoufand ; the admiffion of the
allies infinitely increafed the number; and in Csefar's time there were three
hundred and twenty thoufand, who (hared in the public donations of com.
lliink of this turbulent mob of moftly idle perfons aflembllng to vote^ in corn-
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Chap. IV.] The Decline of Rome. ^19
pany with it's patrons, and thofc who afpired to pofts of honour; and it will
not be diiEcult to conceive how donations, fpeÄaclcs, parade, and flattery, and
ftiU more military force, could excite thofe tumults, fpill thofe feas of blood,
and cftablifli thofe triumvirates, which at length reduced this haughty fovcreign
of the World into a ftate of flavery to hcrfelf. Where now was the authority
of the fenate ? or what were five or fix hundred pcrfons againft the innumer-
able multitude, that claimed the rights ofifovcreignty, and, marfliaUed in power-
ful armies, were at the beck now of this man, now ofthat? What a poor figure
did the divine fenate, as the flattering greeks ftyled it, make before Marius or
Sylla, Pompey or Carfar, Antony or Oftavius ! The father of his country, Cicero,
appears (horn of his glories, when attacked only by a Clodius ; and his bed:
councils wer& of little avail, not only againft what Pompey, Caefar, Antony, and
others, aftually did, but what even a Catiline had nearly accomplilhed. Not
firom the fpices of the eaft, not from the effeminacy of Lucullus, fprung this
diforderly fl.ate of things; but firom the eflence of the conftitution of Rome,
which, merely as a city, aimed at being the head of the World ♦.
3. In Rome, howeverythere were not a femie and people alone^ butßaves alfo'y and
tfthefe the number increafed^ irt proportion as the remans extended their /way. By
the hands of flaves they cultivated their extenfivc, fertile lands in Italy, Sicily,
Greece, &c. A number of flaves conftituted their domeftic wealth ; and the
traffic in them, nay the tuition of them, was an extenfive occupation at Rome,
of which even Cato was not afliamed. The days when matter and fcrvant
lived almoft like brothers together, and Romulus could promulgate a law, that
a father might fell his fon for a flave three times, had long been paft : the flaves
of the conquerors of the World were coUefted from every quarter of the Globe^
and were treated by good matters mildly, by the pitilefs frequently as brutes.
It would have been wonderful had no detriment accrued to the romans from
this vaft multitude of opprcflTed beings : for, like every other bad inftitution^
this could not fail to avenge itfelf. The vengeance taken by the bloody war of
the flaves, which Spartacus waged againtt the romans for three years, with the
valour and fkill of a confummate general ; his followers increafing from feventy
four perfons to an army of feventy thouGind, with which he defeated different
commanders, among whom were twoconfuls; during which war many cruelties
were perpetrated; was only a prelude. The grand mifchief arofe from the
* For all the ^ood that can be faid of the the manners and way of life of the romans •
iifflplidty of the ancient romans, and the im* and for the progrefs of luxury, both among the
provement of the roman people, read the firjü plebeians and patricians« fee the fecond volume
volame of Meierotto's well fopported work on of the fame book.
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410 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORT. [Book XIV:
favourites of their mafters, the freedmen, who at let^th reduced Rome to the
ftate of a flave of flaves, in the ftrifteft feafe of the words. This evil com-
menced as early as Sylla's time ; and under the emperors it increafed fo dread-
fully, that I am incapable of defcribing the diforders and barbarities, which
originated with freedmen and favourite ilaves. The hiftories and iatires of n>
man authors abound with them : no favage nation upon Earth is acquainted
with any thing, that will bear a comparUbn. Thus Rome was punifhed by
Rome ; the oppreflbr of the World became the abje& fervant of the moft in-
famous flaves»
4. To this luxury likewife greatly contributed : towards which unfortunately
Rome was not lefs forcibly impelled by circumftances, than to the conqueft of
th# World by fituation. As from a central point the ruled the Nfediterranean
Sea, and with it the rich (bores of three quarters of the Globe : while by the aid
of confiderable fleets (lie acquired through the medium of Alexandria the pre*
cious commodities of Ethiopia, and the remoteft parts of the eaft. My words
\>^--- .^^ . --^ are too feeble to dcfcribc the grofs diflipation and luxury in fcafb and public
fpeftacles, in dainties for the table and garments for the body, in houfes and in
furniture, which prevailed, not only in Rome, but in every place conneded
with it, after the conqueft of Afia ♦. A man can fcarcely believe his own
eyes, when he reads the defcriptions of thefe things, the high price of foreign
commodities, and the profufion of them, with the immenfe debts of the great
men of Rome, who were latterly freedmen and flaves. This extravagance ne«
ctflarily induced extreme poverty : nay it was in itfelf a preffing want. Thofe
fivers of gold, which for centuries flowed into Rome from all the provinces»
at laft dried up : and as all the commerce of the romans was in the higheft
degree prejudicial to them, (ince they exchanged ready money for mere fuper-
fluities. it is not to be wondered, that India alone drained them annually of
'"* . ' i\\ r immenfe fums.
In the mean time, the land was negle&ed : agriculture was no longer pur-
fued,as it had formerly been, by the romans and their contemporaries in Italy;
the arts of Rome were employed not on the ufeful, but on the fuperfluous ; on
extravagant fplendour and expenfe in triumphal arches, baths, funeral monu-
nvnts, theatres, amphitheatres, and the like ; wonderful ftruftures, fuch as it
muft be confefied thefe plunderers of the World alone could ereA. To no
• Sec, bcfidc Petronias, Pliny, Juvenal, and of life of the romant, Meiners*a Gefchkbie du
abandance of paflages in the ancients ; and FtrfaUs dtr Rotmir» * Hiftory of the Decline of
among modem compilations the fecond volume the Romans/ &c.
of Meierotto*s work on the mannen and way
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Ch A p . IV.] Tie BecUne of Rome, 42 1
roman are vvc indebted for any ufeful art, for any thing contributing to the
fupport of man; which might have benefitted other nations, and front
which permanent and deferved advantage might have been derived. Hence
the empire Toon became poor: the flandard of the coin was lowered ; and in ^ ♦• '^ ^
the third century of our era, if we take the bafenefs of the coin into confider-
ation, a general received fcarcely the pay, that was deemed infufficicnt for &
common foldier in the time of Auguftus. Obvious natural confequences of
the courfe of things ; which, confidered merely in a manufitduring and commer*
cial view, could not turn out otherwife.
From thefe deftruftive circumftances the human fpecies, too, degenerated ;
aot only in nunjber, but in ftature, growth, and vital energy. Rome and Italy,
which had rendered the mod populous and flourifliing countries in the World»
Sicily, Greece^ Spain, Afia, Africa, and Egypt, nearly deferts, naturally drew upon
themfelves, by their laws and wars, and dill more by their depraved, indolent
manner of living, their inordinate vices, the pradice of divorce, feverity toward» - -
their flaves^ and latterly tyranny toward the worthieft men, the moft unnatural
death. Expiring Rome lay for centuries on her deathbed in the moft frightful
convulfions : a deathbed extending over a whole World, from which (he had
fucked her delicious poifon, and which could then render her no affiftance, but
that of accelerating her death. Barbarians came to perform this office : northern
giants, to whom the enervated romans appeared dwarfs : they ravaged Rome,
and infufed new life into expiring Italy. A tremendous yet wholefome proof,
that all irri^larities in Nature avenge and confume themfdves* We have to
thank" the luxury of the eaft for having freed the World earlier from a carcafe,
which viAories in other regions indeed would have deflroyed, but it is probable
neither fo fpeedily, nor fo terribly.
5. I have now to confolidate the whole into one view, and unfold the grand
ordinance of nature, that, even without luxury, without plebeians, without a
fenate, and without (laves, fie military fpirit of Rome altme muß iave vltimatefy \ — -
deflroyed it; and tiat fword^ wiici it fo often drew againß innocent cities and na-
tions^ iave returned into it's ozvn bowels. But here all hiftory fpeaks for me.
When the legions, unfatiated with fpoil, found nothing more to plunder, and ,^
on the frontiers of Parthia and Germany faw an end to their fame» what could
they do, but turn back, and devour the parent (late ? The fearful tragedy be-
gan with the times of Marius and Sylla : attached to their commanders, or
paid by them, the returning armies revenged their generals on their antagoniflr,
even in the midft of their country, and Rome was deluged with blood. This
trj^edy continued. When Pompey and Caefar led againft each other dearly
paid armies, in the country where once the Mufes fung, and Apollo pallurcd
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4az PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV.
his flocks as a fhcpherd ; romans, fighting againft romans, decided the fate of
their country at this diftance. So it proceeded in the barbarous compaft of the
triumvirs at Modena, which in a fingle Uft condemned to death or banifliment
three hundred fenators, and two thoufand knights, and extorted two hundred
thoufand talents * chiefly from Rome, and even from the women: as it did
after the battle of Philippi, where Brutus fell; before the war againft the
younger Pompey, the nobler fon of a great father i after the Battle of Aftium j
and on other occafions.
It was in vain that the weak, unfeeling Auguftus aftcd the part of clemency
and the love of peace : the empire had been won by the fword ; the fword muft
maintain it, or by the fword it muft fall. If the romans began to flumber ;
the nations that had been injured, or put into commotion, would not flumber
too : they demanded vengeance, and retaliated when opportunity arrived. In
the roman empire the csefars ever remained nothing more than commanders in
chief of the armies : and many of them, who forgot their ftations, were dread-
fully reminded of them by their foldiers. Thcfe fct up, and put down empe-
rors : till at length the commander of the pretorian guards made himfelf grand
vizir, and the fenators contemptible puppets. In a fliort time, too, the fenate
was compofed wholly of foldiers ; of foldiers whom time had fo enfeebled, that
they were fit neither for war nor counfel. The empire fell to pieces : rival
emperors perfecuted and aflTailed each other : foreign nations preflTed into the
empire, and enemies were admitted into the army, who aUured other enemies.
Thus the provinces were torn and ravaged ; and proud, eternal Rome fell, de-
fcrted and betrayed by it's own commanders. A fearful monument of the end,
that every where awaits the thirft of conqueft, whether in great or little ftates;
and more particularly the fpirit of military dcfpotifm, according to the juft laws
of nature. Never was a martial ftate more firm and extenfive than that of Rome :
and never was a corpfe conveyed more horribly to the grave j fo that after Pom-
pey and Cefar another conqueror could never have been expedted, or another
regiment of foldiers, to arife in a civilized nation.
Powerful Defliny ! has the hiftory of the romans been preferved, has half the
World been a vi<5tim to the fword, to teach us this lefTon ? And yet we learn from
it nothmg but words ; or, raifunderftood, it has formed new romans, incapable
however of equalling their prototype. Thofe ancient romans have appeared
but once upon the ftage, and aAed, chiefly as private perfons, a trcmendoufly
grand tragedy, the repetition of which, for humanity's fake» we can never defire.
Let us examine, however, what greatnefs and fplendour this tragedy has exbi«
bited in it's progrefs.
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CHAPTER V.
Charadier^ Sciences y and Arts of the Romans,
After what has been faid, juftice demands, that we Ihould name with due
praife thofe nobleminded individuals, who, in the un&vourable fituation, in
which deftiny had placed them, bravely facrificed themfelves for what they
called the good of their country, and in the (bort courfe of their lives performed
deeds reaching almoft the fummit of human powers. Following the courfe
of hiftory, I (hall mention as deferving fame in different degrees a Junius Brutus
and Poplicola, Mutius Scaevola and Coriolanus, Valeria and Veturia, the three
hundred Fabii and Cincinnatus, Camillus and Decius, Fabricius and Regulus,
Marcellus and Fabius, the Scipios and Catos, Cornelia and her unfortunate
fons ; to whom, if military glory alone were to be confidered, we fhall add
Marius and Sylla, Pompey and Csefar; and, if good intentions and endeavours
deferve praife, Marcus Brutus, Cicero, Agrippa, Drufus, and Germanicus.
Neither mufl we forget among the emperors Titus, the delight of mankind,
the jufl and good Nerva, the fortunate Trajan, the indefatigable Adrian, the
good Antoninus, the vigilant Severus, the manly Aurelian, and other powerful
props of a (inking edifice« But as thefe men are better known to every one,
than even the greeks themfelves, I may be excufed if I fpeak generally of the
charaäer of the romans in their befl ages, and con(ider this charaAer as a con(e«
quence of the circumftances of the times.
If a name were to be given to impartiality and firm.refolve, to indefatigable
aftivity in words and deeds, and a determinate ardent purfuit of viftory or
honour ; if to that cool courage, which peril cannot daunt, misfortune cannot
bend, and fuccefs cannot intoxicate ; it muft be that of roman fortitude.
Many perfons even of the loweft order in this flate have difjplayed this virtue
in fo confpicuous a manner, that we, particularly in our youth, when we view
the romans chiefly on the moft brilliant fide, honour fuch perlbnages of the
old World as great departed fpirits. Their generals ftride like giants from one
quarter of the Globe to another, and bear the fate of nations in their prompt
and powerful hands. Thrones are overturned by their foot as they pafs, and
they determine the life or death of myriads with a word. Perilous height, on
which they (land ! Ruinous game, where crowns are the flake, and where the
wealth of nations, and the lives of millions, are played away !
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4t4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XIV.
On this height they walk as fimplc romans, difdaining the pomp of barbarian
kings ; the helmet their crown, tlie coat of mail their only decoration.
And when on this fummit of wealth and power I hear their manly eloquence,
and fee the unwearied aftivity of their domeftic or patriotic virtues ; when in
the throng of battle, or in the tumult of the Forum, the countenance of C«far
retains it's conftant ferenity, and his heart beats with magnanimous clemency
even toward his enemies ; great man, even with all the vices, into which
levity led thee, if thou didft not deferve to be monarch of Rome, no man
ever did ! But Caffar was more than this ; he was Caefar. The higheft throne
on Elarth decorated itfeif with his name : O that it could have adorned itfclf
with his fpirit alfo ! that for ages it could have been animated with the bene-
volent, vigilant, comprehenfive mind of Csefar !
But there Hands his friend Brutus with drawn dagger. W^orthy Brutus ! thy
evil genius appeared to thee not for the firft time at Sardis or Philippi : long
before hadft thou feen it in the fliape of thy country, to which, though of fofter
foul than thy rude forefathers, thou madeft a facrifice of the facred rights of
friendfliip and humanity. Wanting the mind of a Csefar and the vulgar fero«
cioufnefs of a Sylla, thou couldft not profit by the deed impofed upon thee i
and waft compelled to abandon Rome, now Rome no longer, to the wild
defigns of an Antony and an Oftavius : Antony, who laid all the glory of
Rome at the feet of an egyptian ftrumpct ; Oftavius, who from the chamber
of a Livia ruled with a femblance of divine tranquillity the wearied World. No-
thing was left for thee, but thy own fword : a melancholy yet neceflary refource
for an unfortunate roman.
Whence arofe this great charafter of the romans ? From their education i
often from family pride, and the glory of a name -, from their occupations ;
from the condenfation of the fenate, the people, and all nations, in the
central point of the fovercignty of the World ; and laftly from the fortunate,
unfortunate necefSty, in which the romans found themfelves. Hence every
part of roman greatnefs was common to the people, as well as the nobler
families ; to the women, as well as the men. The daughters of Scipio and
Cato, the wife of a Brutus, the mother and (ifter of the Gracchi, could not adt
unbecoming their families : nay, noble roman ladies frequently excelled the
men in prudence and worth. Thus Terentia pofTefTed more heroic courage
than Cicero i Veturia, more noblemindednefs than Coriolanus ; Paulina, more
fortitude than Seneca. No natural advantages could produce in an eaftern
haram, or a gyneceum of Greece, thofe female virtues, which blofTomcd in the
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Ch A p . v.] CiaraSfer, Sciences^ and Arts of the Romans, 425
public and domeftic life of the romans : but it muft be confefled, that, in the
times of roman depravity, female vices appeared, at which humanity fhudders.
Even fo early as the fubjugation of the latins, a hundred and feventy roman
wives agreed to poifon their hufbands ; and, when they were difcovered, quaffed
off the fatal portion like heroes. The deeds, which the women of Rome were
capable of perpetrating under the emperors, want a name. The deepeft (hade
borders on the ftrongeft light : a ftepmother Livia, and the faithful Antonia-
Drufus, a Plancina and Agrippina-Germanicus, a Meffalina and Odavia, appear
fide by fide.
If we would eflimate the merits of the romans in regard to fcience, we muft
take their peculiar charafter into confideration, and require from them no
grecian arts. Their language was the aeolian dialeä:, intermingled with almoft
all the tongues of Italy. From this rude form it was flowly improved ; and
yet, with all it's improvement, it could never completely attain that eafe,
beauty, and perfpicuity, which diflinguiQi the greek. It is cpncife, grave, and
worthy to be the language of the legiflators'and fovereigns of the World : in
every refpcft a type of the roman mind. As the romans did not become
acquainted with the greeks, till their charafter and political ftate had long
been formed by the latins, the etrufcans, and their own efforts ; it was late,
before their native eloquence began, to receive any polifli from Greece. We
will pafs over, therefore, their firft dramatic and poetical attempts, which
unqucftionably contributed much to the formation of their language, and
fpeak of what with them took deeper root j legißntion^ oratory^ and kißorfi
flowers of the intelleft, which their occupations produced, and in which the
roman genius is more particularly difplayed.
-Here, too, we have to regret, that fate has favoured us with fo little : for
they, whofc thirft of conqueft deprived us of fo many works of other nations,
were obliged, in like manner, to fubmit the produdlions of their own genius
to deftrudive time. Not to mention the ancient annals of their priefts, the
heroic hiftorics of Ennius and Naevius, or the attempt of a Fabius Piftor;
where are the hiftories of a Cincius, Cato, Libo, Pofthumius, Pifo, CafTms
Hemina, Servilian, Fannius, Sempronius, Cselius Antipater, Afellio, Gellius,
Lucinius, and others } Where are the lives of iEmilius Scaurus, Rutilius
Rufus, Lutatius Catulus, SjUa, Auguftus, Agrippa, and Tiberius, of an Agrip-
pina-Germanicus, and even of a Claudius, Trajan, &c., written by themfelves i
Where, too, are the numerous hiftorical works of the moft important pcrfons
of the ftate in the moft important periods of Rome } of Hortenfius, Atticus,
Sifenna, Lutatius, Tubero, Lucceius, Balbus, Brutus, and Tiro j of Valerius
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426 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV,
Meflala, Cremutius Cordus, Domitius, Corbulo, and Cluvius Rufus ? where,
the many loft works of Cornelius Nepos, Salluft, Llvy, Tragus, Pliny, and
others ? I infert thefe names here, to abafli thofe moderns, who fet themfelves
far above the romans : for where is the modern nation, that can reckon among
it's princes, generals, and chief officers of ftate, fo many and fo great hiftorians,
as thefe pretendcdly barbarous romans, in fo fhort a time, and during events of
fo much importance, in wliich they were aftivcly employed ? From the few
fragments, yet remaining as fpecimens of a Cornelius, Csefar, Livy, &c.,
roman hiflory, it muft be confeffed, has not the charms and pleafmg beauty
of the greek j but it pofleflcs roman dignity, and much philofophical and
political wifdom in a Salluft, Tacitus, and others. Where great aftions are
achieved, men think and write with dignity : ilavery palfies the tongue, as
appears from the later roman hiftory itfelf: and, alas ! the majority of the
roman hiftorians, during the times of roman liberty, or while that liberty was
but half deftroyed, are wholly loft. An irreparable lofs : for fuch men caa
live but once 5 but once can write their own hiftor}^
Roman Hiftor)^ walks by the fide of Eloquence, her fifter, and the Art of
War and of Politics, their common mother. Thus fevcral of the greatcft of
the romans were not only {killed in thefe fciences, but writers alfo. The greek
and roman hiftorians are unjuftly cenfured for the political and military
fpeeches, which they have frequently introduced into their narrative : for as
public fpeeches foraied the chain, to which every affair of the commonwealth
was linked, the hiftorian could not find a more natural inftrument to conneft
events, prefent them in dÜFerent points of view, and enter into a philofophical
elucidation of them. Thefe fpeeches afford the writer a far more elegant mode
of philofophifing, than that fubfequently adopted by Tacitus and his brethren,
who, compelled by neceffity, uniformly intermix their own reflexions. Tacitus,
however, has been unjuftJy criticifed alfo, for his philofophifing fpirit ; for both
in his delineations, and in the feverity of their ftyle, he is in heart and mind a
roman. It was impoffible for him to relate events, without unfolding their
caufes, and painting in black colours what was deteftable. His hiftory fighs
for Hberty^ and it's obfcure concife tone difplays deeper regret for it's loft,
than words could have exprefled. Hiftory and eloquence enjoy only times of
freedom, that is of public aAivity in politics and war : they perifti with thefe ;
and, as the ftate grows indolent, their thoughts and expreflion are be«-
numbed.
With regard to orators, though not inferiour in fame to the hiftorians, we
have Icfs to deplore. Cicero alone is fufficient, to indemnify us for the lofs
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Crap. V.] Ciaraäler^ Scietues, and Arts of the Romans. 417
of many. In his writings on oratory he gives us the charafters at leaft of his
great prcd^ceflbrs and contemporaries; and to us his orations may fupply the
place of thofc of Cato, Antonius, Hortenfius, Caefar, and others. The fate of
this man is illuftrious : more illuftrious after his death, than during his life.
He has preferred to us not only the eloquence of Rome, in his precepts and
«xamples, but the greater part of the grecian philofophy ; for of many of it's
fchools we (hould have known little more than the names, and not their
doArines, but for the enviable garb, in which he has preferred them. His
eloquence excels the thunder of Demofthenes, not only in philofophical clear-
nefs and perfpicuity, but in urbanity and true patriotifm. Almoft to him
alone is Europe indebted for the reftoration of the pure latin language ; an
mftrument, that has unqucftionably done much for the human mind, notwith«
ftanding it's many abufes. Light lie the turf upon thee, therefore, much occu-
pied and much perfecuted man, the pater patria of all the latin fchools in
Europe ! For thy frailties thou didll fufficient penance in thy lifetime : now
thou art dead, may men enjoy the fruits of thy learned, elegant, juft, and noble
fpirit, and learn from thy letters and works, if not to adore, at leafl; to love thee
with gratitude and high efteem*.
The poetry of the romans was but a foreign flower, which bloflfomed beau-
tifully in Latium, it is true, and here and there aflumed a more delicate tint,
but it was incapable of producing any new fruits of it's own. The etrufcans,
indeed, had already prepared the ruder warrior for poetry by their falian and
funereal fongs, and their fefcennine, atellanian, and fcenic games. With the
capture of Tarentum and other cities of Grsecia Magna, grecian poets al(b
were captured, who endeavoured to render the rude dialed of the conquerors
of Greece more plcafing to them, by the help of the more refined mufes of
their mother country. The merits of thefc moft ancient latin poets arc known
to us only from a few verfes and fragments ; but we are aftonifhed at the
number of their tragedies and comedies, that we find quoted, not only in
ancient times, but in part even in the bed ages. Time has deftroyed them ;
but I do not think the lofs great, compared with that of the greeks ; for many
of them were founded on grecian ftories, and probably imitations of grecian
manners. The roman people delighted too much in farces and pantgmimes,
in the circenfian games and combats of gladiators, to pofTefs a grecian ear, or
grecian tafle for the theatre. The dramatic mufe was introduced to the romans
* For the charader of this man, which has refpefts the writings of thu roman« but the ge-
often been mifanderftood, read Middleton's life neral hiilory of his time.
of Cicero, an excellent work, not only as far as
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428 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV.
as a flave ; and a Have with them (he ever remained : ftiU I much regret the
lofs of the hundred and thirty pieces of Plautus, and the (hipwreck of a hun*
dred and eight plays of Terence i as well as the poems of Ennius, a man of
ftrong mind, particularlyiis Scipio and his didadic poems: for in Terence alone,
to ufe Carfar's expreffion, we had at Icaft half Menander. Cicero, too, w^e have
to thank for having prefervcd to us a Lucretius, a poet of a roman foul j and
to Auguflus we are indebted for a Semi-Homer in the JEneid. Let us thank
Comutus, likewife, for not having deprived us of fome of the cxercifcs of his
noble pupil Perfius : and you, alfo, ye monks, for having favcd, as means of
learning latin, Horace, and Boethius, with fomething of Terence, but above all
your Virgil, as an orthodox poet. The fole unfpotted laurel in the crown of
Auguftus is, that he cheriöied the mufes, and allov/ed fcience a free wing.
From the roman poets to the philofophers I turn with plcafure : many were
both at the fame time, and indeed philofophers in their hearts as well as heads»
In Rome no fyftems were invented ; but philofophy was praftifcd, and intro«
duced into law, politics, and private life. Never did a didaftic poet write with
irforc force and fire than Lucretius ; for he believed what he taught : never
fincc the time of Plato has the Academy been renovated with greater charms,
than in the elegant dialogues of Cicero. The ftoic philofophy, likewife, not
only obtained great fway ia roman jurifprudencc, and formed a ftriA rule for
the conduft of men, but acquired a praftical folidity and beauty in the writing
of Seneca, the excellent meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the maxims of Epi&e-
tus, &c., to which the dodrines of various fcbools have evidently contributed»
Exercife and neceflity in many fevcre ßtuations of the roman ftate fteelcd the
breafts of the romans and fortified their courage : they examined mto what
was proper to be followed, and availed thcmfelves of what the greeks had
conceived, not as idle ornament, but as the weapons and armour of the
mind. The ftoic philofophy had great effeft on the heads and hearts of the
romans : not indeed in exciting them to the conqueft of the World, but in pro-
moting juftice, reftitudc, and the internal confolation of men unjuftly oppreffed-
For the romans were men ; and as innocent pofterity fuffcred for the fins of
their progenitors, they fought to ftrengthcn thcmfelves as they could : they
firmly appropriated to themfelvcs what was not of their own invention.
The hiftory of roman literature is to us a ruin of ruins; for, with the collec-
tions of it, we have loft, for the moft part, the fources whence thofe coUedions
were drawn. What labour (hould we have been (pared, what light would have
been thrown upon antiquity, if the writings of Varro, or the two thoufimd books
from which Pliny compiled, had come down to us ! From what was known of
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the Worid to the romans, Ariftotle undoubtedly would have made a colleftion
diflferent from Pliny's : yet is the book of Pliny a treafure, wliicli füows the in-
duftry and roman fpirit of the writer, notwithftanding his ignorance in particu-
lar f)oint5. Thus, too, the hiftory of roman jurifprudence is the hiftory of great
diligence and acutenefs, which could have been excrcifed, and fo long purfued,
in the roman (late alone r what in the courfe of time has been made out of ü,
or foifted into it, muft not be charged on the lawyers of ancient Rome, In
ftiort, defedive as roman literature appears in almoft every branch compared
with the greek, this muft not be afcribed to the circumftances of the times alone,
but to the very nature of the romans alfo, for ages proudly afpiring to be the
lawgivers of the World. The fequel of the work will (how this, when we fee a
new Rome arifing from the allies of the old, in a very different form, but yet
big with the fpirit of conqueft»
Laftly I have to fpeak of the arts of the romans, in which they difplayed
themfelves to the prefent World, and to pofterity, as the fovereigns of the Earth,
at whofe nod, were the materials of every countr5% and the hands of every con-
quered nation. From the beginning they were infpired with the defire of pro-
claiming the fplendour of their vidories by monuments of fame, and the ma-
jefty of their city by magnificent and durable ftruftures j fo that they very early
thought of nothing lefs than the eternity of their proud exiftence. The tem-
ples that Romulus and Numa erefted, and the places they afligned for public
affemblies, already had viftory in view, and a mighty popular government ; till,
foon after, Ancus and Tarquin laid the firm foundations of that architefturc,
which ultimately rofe almoft to immenfity. The etrufcan king built the walls
of Rome of hewn ftone. To fupply his fubjeds with water, and keep the city
clean, he erefted thofe vaft refervoirs, the ruins of which even now are among
the wonders of the world ; for modern Rome is unable even to clean them, and
keep them in repair. In the fame ftyle were it's galleries, it's temples, it's courts
of jufticc, and that immenfe circus, which, erefted for the amufement of
the people merely, excites our veneration even noW in it's ruins. This path was
purfued by the kings, the haughty Tarquin in particular j afterwards by the con-
fiils and ediles j then by the conquerors of the World, and the diftators ; but
chiefly by Julius Caefar ; and the emperors followed. Thus by degrees arofe thofe
gates and towers, theatres and amphitheatres, circufcs and ftadia, triumphal
arches and honorary columns, fplendid monuments and maufolea, roads and aque-
dufts, palaces and baths, which difplay the eternal footfteps of thefe lords of
tlic Wodd, ia the provinces as well as in Rome and Italy. To contemplate
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430 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIV,
many of thefe, even in their ruins, almoft fatigues the eye ; and the mind finks
under the conception of the vaft idea, from which the artift generated thefe
grand dcfigns of folidity and magnificence. StiJl more little do we feel ourfclves,
when we refleft on the purpofes of thefe ftruftures, the way of life that wcs
purfued in and among them, the people to whofc ufc they were dedicated, and
the perfons, not unfrequently private individuals, by whom they were ereclcd.
Then the mind feels, that the World never contained but one Rome ; and that
one genius prevailed, from the wooden amphitheatre of Curio, to the Colikum of
Vefpafian ; from the temple of Jupiter Stator, to the Pantheon of Agrippa, or the
temple of Peace; from the firft triumphal gate of a returning viftor, to the tri-
umphal arches, and honorary columns of Auguilus, Titus, Tf ajan, Severus, f.nd
throughout every monument of public or private life. This genius was not the
fpirit of general liberty and comprehenfivc benevolence : for, when we reficd on
the enormous toil of the labourers, who, as the Haves of war, were often obliged
to procure thefe mountains of ftone and marble from diftant lands j when we
confider the fums expended on thefe monfters of art, funis wrung from the blood
and fweat of plundered and opprefTed provinces ; when we think of the barba-
roufly proud and favage tafte, which moft of thefe edifices cheriflied, by their
bloody combats of gladiators, their inhuman battles with wild beafts, their bar-
barous triumphal proceffions, &c. ; not to mention the luxury of their baths and
palaces ; we are compelled to think, that Rome was founded by fome demon
inimical to mankind, to exhibit to all human beings traces of his fupernatural,
demoniacal fovereignty. On this fubjeft let the reader turn to the complaints
of the elder Pliny, and every noble roman ; let him trace the wars and opprcf-
fions, that brought to Rome the arts of Etruria, Greece, and Eg}^pt : he will
probably admire the mountains of roman magnificence, as the fummit of human
grcatnefs and power ; but at the fame time he will learn to dcteft them, as the
murderous and tyrannical graves of mankind. The rules of art, however, remain
what they were : and though the romans, properly fpeaking, invented nothing
in the arts, nay latterly combined together what had elfewhere been invented, in
a manner fufEciently barbarous ; yet, in. this accumulating, piling tafte, they
fliow themfelves the great lords of the Earth.
Excudent alii fpirantia moUius sera :
Credo equidem ; vivos duccnt de marmore vultus :
Orabunt caufas melius : ccclique meatus
Defcribent radio, et furgentia fidera dicent :
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Chap. V.] Charaaer, Sciences, and Arts oftheRmans. 43 1
Tu regere impcrio populos, Romane, memento j
Hae tibi erunt artes, pacifque imponcre morem,
Parcerc fubjedis & debellare fuperbos.
jEneid, Lib, VI, L 867-73.
Let others better mould the running mafs
Of metals, and inform the breathing brafs;
And foftcn into flefli a marble face :
Plead better at the bar : defcribe the Ikies,
And when the ftars defcend, and when they rife.
But, Rome, 'tis thine alone with awfiil fway.
To rule mankind, and make the world obey ;
Dilpofing pcaqe, and war, thy own majeftic way.
Dryden,
We would willingly excufe the romans for the want of all the grecian art»
they defpifed» and which notwithftandii^ they employ.rd for ufe or ornament >
nay for the negleft of improving the nobleft fciences, aftronomy, chronolc^,
&c. ; and undertake a pilgrimage to the places, where thefe flowers of the intel-
\t&, bloomed in their native foil ^ had they but left them there, and exercifed
with more philanthropy that art of government, which they deemed their fu-
preme excellence. But this was not in their power; as their wifilom was fub-
fen'ient only to their overweening authority, and the pretended pride of nationa
bent to a (till greater pride.
CHAPTER VI.
General Refledlions on the Hißory and Fate of Rome.
I T has been of old an exercife of political philofophy, to determine, whether
Rome were more indebted for her greatnefs to fortune, or to valour. Already
Plutarch, and many other writers, both greek and roman, have given their opi-
nions on this point ; and in modern times the queftion has been handled by
almofl: every refleding adventurer in the paths of hiftory. Plutarch, after all
that he is obliged to allow to roman valour, gives fortune the preponderance:
in this inquiry, however, as in his other writings, he fliows himfelf the flowery,
pleafing greek, not the pofleflbr of a comprehenfive mind fully equal to his fub-
jeft. Mofl:of the romans, on the contrary, afcribe all to their vabur; and the
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43* PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book XIV.
philofophcrs of later times have difcovered a fyftem of poliqr, on which the ro-
maii power was crefted, from the firft foundation ftone to it's greatcft ampli-
tude. Hiftory clearly (hows, that neither of thcfe hypothcfcs is exclufively true,
Jout that all niuft be taken in conjunftion for a folution of the problem. Va-
lour, fortune, and policy muft have combined, to effeft-what was aftu^lly ac-
compüöied ; and we find thefe three deities leagued in favour of Rome from the
days of Romulus. Whether, after the manner of the ancients, we terra the
whole aflemblage of living caufes and efiedls nature, or fortune, the valour of the
romans, not excluding even their barbarous feverity, together with their policy
and cunnbg, muft be taken as part of this all-ruling fortune. Our view muft
ever remain incomplete, if we attach ourfelves exclufively to cither of thefe qua-
lities, and, while we contemplate the excellencies of the romans, forget their
failings and vices; while wc confider their intimate charafter, omit concomi-
tant circumftances ; and, while we admire their firmnefs and Ikill in military
aflFairs, overlook thofe accidents, by which they were often fo happily aflTjfted.
The geefe, that faved the Capitol, were not lefe the tutehry deities of Rome,
than the courage of Camillus, the temjwizing of Fabius, or Jupiter Stator. In
the phyfical world all things that ad together, and upon each other, whether
generating, fupporting, or deftroying, muft be confidered as one whole : the
fame in the natural world of hiftory.
It is a pleafing exercife of the mind, to inquire, on this occafion or that, what
Rome would have been under different circumftances : as, if it had been founded
on a different fpot ; if at an early period it had been tranfported to Veii ; if
the Capitol had been taken by Brennus : if Italy had been attacked by Alex-
ander ; if the city had been conquered by Hannibal ; or if his counfel had been
followed by Antiochus. In like manner we may inquire, how Cajfar would have
reigned in the place of Auguftus ; how Germanicus, in the place of Tiberius :
what would have been the ftate of the World, without the powerful (pread of
chriftianity : &c. Thefe inquiries would lead us to fuch an accurate concate-
nation of circumftances, that at length we fliould learn to confider Rome, after
the manner of the oriental fage, as a living creature, capable under fuch circum-
ftances alone of rifing from the banks of the Tiber, as from the fca; gra-
dually acquiring ftrength to contend with all nations, by fea and land, fubdue,
and crufli them ; and laftly finding within itfelf the limits of it's glor)% and
the origin of it's corruption, as it aftually did find them. Thus contemplated,
every thing arbitrary and irrational vaniflics from hiftory. In it, as in every pro-
duftion of nature, all, or nothing, is fortuitous; all, or nothing, is arbitrary.
Every phenomenon in hiftory is a natural produftion, and for man perhaps of all
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Chap. VI.] GeneraJ ReßeSficns on the Hißory and Fate of Rome, 433
mod worthy contemplation ; as in it fo much depends on men, and he may find
the mod ufeflil kernel, though included perhaps in a bitter (hell, even in what
lies without the Iphere of his own powers, in the overbearing weight of times
and circumflances ; in the oppneffion of a Greece, a Carthage, or Numantia i in
the murder of a Sertorius, a Spartacus, or a Viriat\is ; in the ruin of the younger
Pompey, Drufus, Germanicus, or Britannicus. Thb is the only philofopTiical
method of contemplating hiftory, and it has been even unconfcioufly piadifed
by all thinking minds.
Nothing has tended more to obftruft this impartial view, than the attempt to
confider even the bloody hiftory of Rome as fubfervient to fome fecret limited
defign of providence : as, for inftance, that Rome was raifed to fuch a height
principally for the produftion of orators and poets, for extending the roman
law and latin language to the limits of it's empire, and fmoothing the way for
the intcoduAion of chriftianity. No one is ignorant of the prodigious evik,
under which Rome, and the World around her, groaned, before fuch orators
and poets could arife ; how dear, for inftance, Sicily bought Cicero's fpeech
againft Verres ; and how much his orations againft Catiline, and his philippics
agsunft Antony, coft his country and himfelf. Thus a (hip muft be loft, to fave
one pearl ; and thoufands muft lofe their lives, merely that one flower might
(pring from their afhes, foon to be diffipated by tlie winds. To purchafe the
JSneid of a Viigil, and the tranquil mufe and urbane epiftles of a Horace, rivers
of roman blood muft previouily flow, nations and kingdoms innumerable muft
be deftroycd. Were thefe fine fruits of a forced golden age worth the ex-
penfe they coft ? The cafe is the fame with the roman law : for who knows
not what vexations were fuffered through it, and how many more humane
inftttutions in very different countries it defbroyed? Foreign nations were
judged conformably to manners, with which they were unacquiunted ; crimes
and puniftiments were introduced among them, of which they had never
heard : nay, has not the general progrefs of this jurifprudence, adapted to the
conftitution of Rome alone, after a thoufand opprefllons, fo extingui(hed or
vitiated the charafters of all it's conquered nations, that, inflead of their peculiar
ftamp, the roman eagle at laft every where appears, covering with feeble wings
the cxcnterated, eyelefs carcafes of murdered provinces ? The latin language, too,
neither gained any thing from conquered nations, nor conferred any thing upon
tbem. It was corrupted, and at length became a mixed jargon, not only in the
provinces, but even in Rome itfclf. Through it's means, alfo, the chafte beauty
of the more elegant greek was contaminated ; and the languages of many na-
tbns, which would have been £eur more ufeful, both to them and to us, than a
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434 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIV
corrupt latin, have vanißicd without leaving behind them the fmalleft remains.
Laftly, with i^ard to the chriftian religion; highly as I venerate the benefits it
has conferred on mankind, fo far am I from believing, that a fingle mileftoae was
ere£bed in Rome by human hands on it's account. For it Romulus founded not
his city, Pompey and Craflus entered not into Judca: Hill lefs were all the roman
cftablifhments in Europe and Afia made, to prepare it's way over the World.
Rome embraced chriftianity, oo otherwife than it embraced the worfliip of
Ifis, and all the contemptible fuperftitions of the eaft : it would be deroga-
tory to divine Providence, to fuppofe, that, for her nobleft work, the propaga-
tion of truth and virtue, (he could employ no other inftrument, than the tyran-
nical and bloody hands of the romans. The chriftian religion raifed itfclf by it's
own energy, as the roman empire grew by it's own powers j and if they at length
united, it was to the advantage of neither : a romiIl> chriftian baftard fprung.
fbm the union, of which there are many who wifli, that it had never beca
bom.
I Natural hiftory has reaped no advantage fi-om the phflofophy of fi'nal caufes,.
I the fedtaries of which have been inclined, to fatisfy themfelves with probable
^onjefture, inftead of patient inquiry: how much lefs the hiftory of mankind,,
with it's endlefsly complicated machinery of caufes mutually adting upon each
other I
We muft alfo difapprove the opinion, that, the roman3 came on the ftage in the
fucceffion of ages, to form a more perfeft link in the chain of cultivation than the
greeks, as in a pifture defigned by man. In whatever the greeks excelled, there
the romans never went beyond them : on the other hand, in what was properly
their own, they learned nothing from the greeks. They endeavoured to profit by
all nations, of which they had any knowledge, even to the Indians and troglo-
dytes : but this they did as romans ; and it may be queftioned, whether to their
advantage or to their detriment. Now as little as all other nations exifted for
the fake of the romans, or framed for them their political inftitutions ages be-
fore, not more did the greeks. Athens and the italian colonies made laws for
themfelves, not for the romans : and if Athens had never exifted, Rome might
have fent to Scythia for her twelve tables. In many refpedls, too, the greciaa
laws were more perfed than the roman ; and the defeds of the latter diSufed
themfelves over a far more extenfive region. If perchance they were in any points
more humane, they were fo after the roman mode ; but it would have been al-
together unnatural, if the conquerors of fo many civilized people had not learned
at leaft a femblance of humanity, by which nations were often deceived.
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Chap. VI.] General Re/Ieälim m the Hi/lory and Fate of Rome. 435
Nothing remains, therefore, but to confider the reman nation, and the latin
language, as bridges placed by Providence, for the conveyance of fome of the
treafures of antiquity to us. Yet for this purpofe the bridges were the worft that
could have been contrived, for of moft of thefe treafures we were robbed by their
very creAion. The romans were deftroyers, and in their turn deftroyed : but de-
<broyers arc no prefervers of the World. They irritated all nations, till at length
they became their prey ; and Providence performed no miracle in their behalf.
Let us, therefore, contemplate this, like any other natural phenomenon, the caufes
and effefts of which we would inveftigate freely, without any preconceived hypo-
thefis. The romans were precifely what they were capable of becoming : eveiy
thing perilhable belonging to them periQied, and what was fufceptible of per-
manence remained. Ages roll on ; and with them the o£pring of ages, multi-
form man. Every thing, that could bloflbm upon Earth, has bloflbmed; each
in it's due feafon, and it's proper fphere : it has withered away» and will blofTom
i^ain, when it's time arrives. The work of Providence purfues it's eternal courle»
according to grand univerfal laws; and to the confideration of this we proceed
with unprefuming fteps.
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r 43« J
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY^
BOOK XV.
THUS every thing b hiftoiy is tranfient : the infcription on her temple
b» evanefcence and decay. We tread on the aflies of our forefiuheis,
and ftalk over the entombed ruins of human inftitutions and kingdoms. Egypt»
Periia, Greece, Rome, flit before us like fliadows : like ghofts they rife from
their graves, and appear to us in the field of hiftoiy.
' When any political body has outlived it*s maturity, who would not wifh
it a quiet difTolution i Who does not (hudder, when, in the circle of living
adive powers, he ftumbles over the graves of ancient inftitutions, which rob the
livii^ of light, and narrow their habitations ? And when the prefent race has
cleared away thefe catacombs, how foon will it's inftitutions have a iimilar ap-
pearance to another, and be in like manner levelled with the earth !
' The caufe of this tranfitorinefs of all terreftrial things lies in their eflence,
in the place they inhabit, and in the general laws» to which our nature is fubjefL
Man's body is a fragile, ever-renovating (bell, which at length can renew itfelf no
longer : but his mind operates upon Earth only in and with the body. We
fancy ourfelves independent ; yet we depend on all nature : implicated in a chain
of mceflantly iluduating things, we muft follow the laws of it's permutation,
which are nothing more than to be born, exift, and die. A flender thread con-
nedks the human race, which is every moment breaking, to be tied anew. The
(age, whom time has made wile, finks into the grave ; that his fucceilbr may
likewife b^in his courfe as a child, perhaps madly deftroy the work of hb iather,
and leave to his fön the fame V£un toil, in which he too confumes his days. Thus
year runs into year : thus generations and empires are linked together. The
Sun fets, that night may fucceed, and mankind rejoice at the beams of a new
morn.
* Now were any advancement obfervable in all this, it would be (bmething :
but where is it to be found in hiftory ? In it we every where perceive deftrudlion,
without being able to difcem, that what rifes anew is better, than what was de-
ftroyed. Nations flourilh and decay : but m a faded nation no new flower^ not
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Book XV.] Perpkxities ofHißory. 43^
to fay a more beautiful one» ever blooms. Cultivation proceeds ; yet become»
not more perfcft by progrefs : in new places new capacities are developed ; the
ancient of the ancient places irrevocably pafs away. Were the romaas more
wife, or more happy, than the greeks ? are we more fo than either?
* The nature of man remains ever the fame : in the ten thoufandth year of
the World he will be bom with paffions, as he was born with paffions in the
two thoufandth, and ran through his courfe of follies to a late, imperfeä;, ufe*
lefs wifdom. We wander in a labyrinth, in which our lives occupy but a fpan;
fb that it is to us nearly a matter of indifference, whether there be any entrance
or outlet to the intricate path.
* Melancholy fate of the human race ! with all their exertions chdned to an
Icon's wheel, to Sifyphus's ftone,and condemned to the profped of aTantalus.
We muft will ; and we muft die, without having feen the fruit of our labours
ripen, or learned a (ingle refult of human endeavours from the whole courfe of
hiftory. If a people (land alone, it's charaders wear away under the hand of
Time : if it come into collifion with others, it is thrown into the crucible, where
it's impreflion is equally effaced. Thus we hew out blocks of ice ; thus we
write on the waves of the fea : the wave glides by, the ice melts ; our palaces,
and our thoughts, are both no more.
* To what purpofe then the unbleflTed labour, to which God has condemned
man as a daily taik during his (hort life ? To what purpofe the burden, under
which every one toils on his way to the grave ; while no one is afked, whether
he will take it up or not, whether he will be born on this fpot, at this period,
and in this circle, or no ? Nay, as moft of the evils among mankind arife from
themfelves, from their defeftive conftitutions and governments, from the arro-
gance of oppreffors, and from the almoft inevitable wcakncfs both of the gover-
nors and the governed ; what fate was it, that fubjeded man to the yoke of his
fellows, to the mad or foolifh will of his brother ? Let a man funi up the pe-
riods of the happinefs and unhappinefs of nations, their good and bad rulers,
nay the wifdom and folly, the predominance of reafon and of paffion, in the
befl : how vaft will be the negative number ! Look at the dcfpots of Afia, of
Africa, nay of almoft the whole Earth : behold thofe monfters on the throne of
Rome, under whom a World groaned for centuries : note the troubles and wars,
the oppreflions and tumults, that took place, and mark the event. A Brutus
falls, and an Anthony triumphs : a Germanicus dies, and a Tiberius, a Caligula,
a Nero, reign : Ariftides is banilhed : Confucius is a wanderer upon the Earth :
Socrates, Phocion, Seneca, are put to death. Every where, it muft be confefTcd,
is difiK)verable the propofition: <<what is, isi what can be, will be; what is
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43» PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XV.
fufceptlble of diffolution, diffolvcs :'* a melancholy confeffion, however, which
univerfally proclaims, that rude Violence, and his filler, malignant Cunning, aze
every where viftorious upon Earth.'
Thus man doubts, and redoubts, after much apparent hiftorical experience :
nay, this melancholy complaint has in a certain degree the fuperficies of all
earthly occurrences in it's favour : hence I have known many, who on the wide
ocean of human hiftory imagined they had loft ihat god» .whom_on the firm
ground of natural knowledge they beheld with their mental eye in ever}' ftalk
of grafs, in every grain of duft, and adored with overflowing heart. In the
temple of the earthly creation, every thing appeared to them full of omnipo»
tence, and benevolent goodnefs : in the theatre of human aftions, on the con-
trary, for which the periods of our life are calculated, they beheld nothing but
a ftage of conflidling fenfual paflions, brutal powers, deftruftive arts, or eva-
nefcent good purpofes. To them hiftory is a fpidcr*s web, in a corner of the
mundane manfion, the intricate threads of which difplay abundant traces of
deftruftive rapine, while it*s melancholy centre, the fpider by which it was
fpun, no where appears.
Yet, if there be a god in nature, there is in hiftory too : for man is alfo a
part of the creation, and in his wildeft extravagances and paflions muft obey
laws, not lefs beautiful and excellent than thofe, by which all the celeftial bodies
move. Now as I am perfuaded, that man is capable of knowing, and deftined
to attain the knowledge of every thing, that he ought to know j I ftep freely
and confidently from the tumultuous fcenes, through which we have been wan-
dering, to infpeft the beautiful and fublime laws of nature, by which they have
been governed.
CHAPTER L
Humanity is the End of human Nature ; andy with this Endy God has put their $um
Fate into the Hands of Mankind.
The end of whatever is not merely a dead inftrument muft be implicated in
itfelf. Were we created, to ftrive with eternally vain endeavours after a pomt of
perfedion external to ourfelves, and which we could never reach, as the magnet
turns to the north j we might not only pity ourfelves as blind machines, but
the being likewlfe, that had condemned us to fuch a ftate of tantalifm, ia
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Chap. T.] Humanity the End of human Nature. 439
forming us for the purpofe of fuch a malignant and diabolical fpeftacle. Should
we fay in his exculpation, that fome good at leaft was promoted, and our nature
preferved in perpetual aftivity, by thcfe empty endeavours, incapable of ever
attaining their objeft ; it muft be an imperfeft, ferocious being, that could de-
ferve fuch an exculpation : for in aftivity that never attains it's end can lie no
good ; and he has weakly or malicioufly deceived us, by placing before our
eyes fuch a dream, from a purpofe unworthy of him. But happily we are
taught no fuch doftrine by the nature of things : if we confider mankind as we
know them, and according to the .laws that are intrinfic to them, we perceive
nothing in man fuperiour to humanity ; for even if we think of angels, or of
gods, we conceive them as ideal, fuperiour men.
We have feen*, that our nature is evidently organized to this end : for it our
finer fenfes and inftinfts, our reafon and liberty, our delicate yet durable health,
our language, art, and religion, were" bellowed. In all ftates, in all focieties,
man has had nothing in view, and could aim at nothing elfe, but humanity,
whatever may have been the idea he formed of it. For it, the arrangements
of fex, and the different periods of life, were made by nature; that,.Qur child-
hood might be pf long continuance, and we might learn a kind of hunianity
by^ means of education. For it, all the different modes of life, throughout the
wide \Vorld,'have been eftabliflied, all the forms of fociety introduced. Hunter,
or fiiherman, ftiepherd, hulbandman, or citizen, in every ftate man has learned
to difcriminate food, and conftruft habitations for himfelf and his family ; to
clothe and adorn either fex, and regulate his domeftic economy. He invented
various laws, and forms of government, the objeft of all which was, that every
one might exercife his faculties, and acquire a more pleafing and free enjoy-
ment of life, undifturbed by others. For this purpofe, property was fecured,
and labour, arts, trade, and an extenfive intercourfe between perfons, facilitated :
punifhments were invented for culprits, rewards for the deferving ; and num-
berlefs moral praftices for people of different claffes, in public and private
life, and even in religion, were eftablifhed. For this, wars were carried on,
treaties were made ; by degrees a fort of law of nations and of war,, and various
compafts of hofpitality and commerce were framed, fo that man might meet
companion and refpeft beyond the confines of his own country. Thus what-
ever good appears in hiftory to have been accomplifhcd, humanity was the
gainer ; whatever foolifli, vicious, or execrable, was perpetrated, ran counter to
humanity : fo that in all his earthly inftitutions man can conceive no other
end, than what lies in himfelf, that is, in the weak or ftrong, bafe or noble
• BooklV.
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440 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
nature, that God gave him. Now if throughout the whole creation we know
nothing, except by what it is, and what it effefts, man's end upon Earth is fliown
XLS by his nature and hiftory, as by the cleareft demonftration.
Let us take a retrofpedl of the regions, over which we have been wandering:
in all the civil eftablifliments from China to Rome, in all the varieties of their
political conftitutions, in every one of their inventions, whether of peace or war,
and even in all the faults and barbarities that nations have committed, we dif-
cern the grand law of nature : let man be man ; let him mould his condition
according as to himfelf fliall feem beft. For this nations took pofleffion of
their land, and eftablilhed themfelves in it as they could. Of women and of
the date, of flaves, clothing, and habitations, of recreation and food, of fcience
and of art, every thing has been made, in the different parts of the Earth, that
man thought was capable of being made for his own or for the general good.
Thus we every where find mankind poflefling and cxcrcifing the right rf
forming themfelves to a kind of humanity, as foon as they have difcemed it.
If they have erred, or (lopped at the half way of an hereditary tradition ; they
have fuffered the confequences of their errour, and done penance for the &ult
they committed. Tlie deity has in nowife bound their hands, farther than by
what they were, by time, place, and their intrinfic powers. When they were
guilty of faults, he extricated them not by miracles, but fuffered thefe faults to
produce their efFcdb, that man might the better learn to know them.
This law of nature is not more (imple, than it is worthy of God, confident»
and fertile in it's confequences to mankind. Were man intended to be what
he is, and to become what he was capable of becoming, he mud prefervc a
fpontaneity of nature, and be encompafled by a fphere of free actions, didurbed
by no preternatural miracle. All inanimate fubdances, every fpecies of living
creature that indinft guides, have remained what they were firom the time of
the creation : God made man a deity upon Earth ; he implanted in him the
principle of felf-aftivity, and fet this principle in motion from the b^inning»
by means of the internal and external wants of his nature. Man could not
live and fupport himfelf, without learning to make ufe of his rcafon : no fooncr,
vv^ " indeed, did he begin to make ufe of this, than the door was opened to a thou-
>• c und crrours and midaken attempts j but at the fame time, and even thro\jgli
^^ ,. s ** * \ \ '' *' thefe very midakes and errours, the way was cleared to a better ufe of his reafon.
\^ '•'^"' \ The more fpecdily he difcemed his faults, the greater the promptitude and
y.j,J^ . . energy with which he applied to correft them : the farther he advanced, the
more his humanity was formed ; and this mud be formed, or he mud groan for
ages beneath the burden of his midakes.
J
'V
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Chap. I.] Humanity the End of human Nature. 441
We fee, too, that Nature has chofen as wide a field for the eftablifhment of
this law, as the abode of mankmd would alJow : (he organized man as varioufly
as the human fpecies could be organized on this Earth. She placed the negro
clofe to the ape j and (lie offered for folution the grand problem of humanity,
to all people, of all times, from the intelleft of the aethiop to the mod refined
underftanding. Scarcely a nation upon Earth is without the neceffaries of
life, to which want and inftind guide : for the greater refinement of man's con-
dition more genial climates produce a race of finer mould. But as all beauty
and perfection of order lie in the midft of two extremes j the moft beau-
tiful form of rcafon and humanity muft find it's place in the temperate mid-
dle region. And this it has abundantly found, according to the natural law
of this general fitnefs. For though fcarcely any of the afiatic nations can be
abfolvcd from that indolence, which rcfted fatisfied too early with good inflitu«
ttons, and regarded hereditary forms as facred and unalterable ; yet they muft
be excufed, when the vaft extent of their continent is confidered, together with
the circumftances to which they were expofed, particularly beyond the moun-
tains. Upon the whole, their firft attempts at the promotion of humanity,
early as they were, confidered each in it's place and time, deferve praife; and
flill lefs can we refiain fix>m acknowledging the progrefs made by the more
aftive nations on the coafts of the Mediterranean fea. Thefc (hook off the
dcfpotic yoke of ancient forms of government and traditions, and gave thereby
an example of the great and good law of human deftiny : that, whatever a na-
tion, or a whole race of men, wills for it's own good with firm convidion, and
purfues with energy. Nature, who has fet up for man's aim neither dclpots
nottiaditioas^butthfiJbeftiprm of humanity, will affuredly grant.
The fundamental principle of this divine law of nature reconciles us won-
derfully not only with the appearance of our fpecies all over the Globe, but
likewife with it's variations through the different periods of time. Every where
man is what he was capable of rendering himfelf, what he had the will and the
power to become. Were he contented with his condition, or were the means
of his improvement not yet ripened in the ample field of time j he remained
for ages what he was, and became nothing more. But if he employed the in-
ftruments God had given him for his ufe, his underftanding, power, and all the
opportunities that a favourable current conveyed to him j he mifed -htmfelt.
higher with art, and improved himfelf with coiirage. If he did not this, his
very indolence (howed, that he was littlt-fenfifele of his misfortune : for every
lively feeling of injuftice, accompanied by intelligence and ftrength, muft
become an emancipating power. The long fubmiffion to defpotifm, for in-
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442 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XV.
fiance, arofe by no means from the overbearing might of the dcfpots: thccafy,
confiding weaknefs of their fubjefts, and latterly their patient indolence, were
it's great and only fupports. For, it muft be confefled, it is eafier to bear
with patience, than to redrefs ourfelves with vigour ; and hence fo many nations
have fbrborn to aflert the right, that God has conferred on them in the divine
gift of reafon.
Still there is no doubt, generally (peaking, that what has not yet appeared
upon Earth will at fome future period appear : for no prefcription is a bar to
the rights of man, and the powers, that God has implanted in him, are ineradi-
cable. We are aftonilhed, to fee how far the greeks and romans advanced in
a few centuries, in their Iphere of objefts : for, though the aim of their exer-
tions was not always the moft pure, they proved, that (hey were capable of
reaching it. Their image fliines in hiftory, and animates every one, who re-
fembles them, to fimilar and better exertions, under the fame and greater affift-
ance of fate. In this view the whole hiftory of nations is to m a fchool, for
inftrufting us in the courfe, by which we are to reach the lovely goal of huma-
nity and worth. So many celebrated nations of old attained an inferiour aim :
why fhould not we fucceed in the purfiiit of a purer and more noble objeft ?
They were men like us : their call to the bed form of himianity was ours, ac-
cording to the circumftances of the times, to our knowledge, and to our duties.
What they could perform without a miracle, we can and ought to perform :
the deity affifb us only by means of our own induftry, our own underftanding»
our own powers. When he had created the Earth, and all it's irrational inha-
bitants, he formed man, and faid to him : * be my image; a god upon Earth;
rule and difpofe. Whatever of noble and excellent thy nature will permit tbec
to produce, bring forth : I will aiEft thee by no miracle ; for I have placed
thy own fate in thy own band : but all my facred, eternal kws of natxire will
be thy aids.'
Let us confidcr fome of thefc natural laws, which, according to the teftimonjr
of hiftory, have promoted the progrefe of humanity m our (pecies; and, as
truly as they are the natural laws of God, will continue» to promote it.
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[ 443 ]
CHAPTER IL
All the deßruHive Powers in Nature muß not only yield in the Courfe of fime to the
maintaining Power Sy but muß ultimately be fubfervient to the Conpmmation of the
IVhoU.
Example theßrß. As the fubftance of future worlds lay floatmg in infimte
fpace, the creator of thefe worlds was pleafed, to leave matter to form itfelf by
means of the internal enerpes imparted to it. Toward the centre of the whole,
the Sun, whatever could find no courfe of it's own, or was attrafted by the
fuperiour power of this orb, bent it's way. Whatever found another centre of
attradion revolved in like manner around it, and either tended to it's great
focus in an elliptical orbit, or flew off in a parabola or hyperbola, and returned
no more. Thus the ether purified itfelf: thus from a confufed fluduating
chaos arofe an harmonious fyftem of worlds, according to which earths and
comets have revolved for ages in regular orbits round their fun : an eternal
proof, that order arofe out of confufion by means of divine implanted powers. As
long as this grand and fimple law of all powers numbered and balanced againft
each other endures, the ilrudure of the univerfe flands firm; for it is founded
on a divine rule and quality.
Second example. In like manner as our Earth formed itfelf finom a (hapelels
mafs into a planet, it's elements ftruggled and contended upon it, till each
found it's place ; fo that, after much wild confufion, all are now become fub*
fervient to the harmonioufly regulated orb. Land and water, air and fire,
feafons and climates, winds and currents, and all it's atmofpherical phenomena,
obey one great law of it's form and denfity, it's motion and difbmce from the
Sun, and are regulated in harmony with thefe. Thofe innumerable volcanoes^
that once flamed on the furface of our Earth, flame on it no longer : the ocean
no longer boils with thofe vitriolic effuiions, and other matters, that once
covered the furface of our land. Millions of creatures have perifhed, that were
fated to perifh : whatever could preferve itfelf abides, and flill, after the lapfe
of thoufands of years, remains in great harmonious order. Wild animals and
tame, carnivorous and graminivorous infeds, birds, fifhcs, and man, are adapted
to each other ; and among all thefe, male and female, birth and death, the term
and ftages of life, wants and enjoyments, neceffities and gratifications. Not,
however, at the will of a daily changing, inexplicable order ^ but according to
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444 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XV.
evident laws of nature, inhcrei^t in the ftrufture of the creatures themfelves,
that is, in the relation of all the organic powers y which have animated and maintained
themfelves on cur planet. As long as the natural law of this ftrudkurc and rela-
tion endures, it's confequences will likewife endure; namely harmonious order
between the animate and inanimate parts of our creation, which, as the intc-
riour of our Earth evinces, was producible only by the deftruäion of mil«
Uons.
What ? and fliall not this law, conformable to the internal powers of na-
I ture, educing order out of chaos, and converting into regularity the confufion
* , of human affairs, prevail in the life of man ? Undoubtedly it docs : we bear it's
principle within us, and it muft and will aft fuitably to it's nature. All the er-
rours of man are mifts of truth : all the paffions of his breaft are wild impulfes
of a power, which yet knows not itfelf, but, according to it's nature, afts only
for the beft. Even the tempefts of the ocean, thofe frequent engines of ravage
and deftruftion, are the offspring of an harmonious order of things, to which
they arc not lefs fubfervient than the gentle zephyr. It is hoped a few obferva-
tions may be placed in fuch a light, as to confirm this pleafing truth.
I. As the ftorms of the fea occur lefs frequently than moderate gales, fo iff
the human {pecies nature has benevolently ordered, that fewer deflroyers than
prefervers ßould be born.
It is a divine law in the animal kingdom, that not fo many lions and tigers
are capable of exiftence, and aftually exift, as (heep and doves : in hiftory we
find the fame beneficent difpofition of things ; fo that we have a much (mailer
liumber of Nebuchadnezzars, Cambyfes, Alexanders, Syllas, Attilas, and Geng-
his-Khans, than of lefs ferocious generals, or quiet peaceful monarchs. To the
produftion of the former either very inordinate paffions, and faulty natural dif-
pofitions, are requifite, whence they appear to the Earth as fiery meteors inftead
of affociate planets; or fingular circumftances of education, rare occurrences
of early habit, or the imperious demands of hoftile, political neceffity, ftir up
thefc fcourges of divine wrath, as they are called, againft mankind, and keep
up their iclentlefs fwing. If it be true, therefore, that Nature deviates not from
her courfe on our account, when, among the innumerable varieties of form and
temperament (he produces, (he occafionally exhibits to the World men of un-
ruly paffions, fpirits of deftruftion, not of prefeivation ; ftill it remains in men's
own power, not to entruft their flocks to thefe wolves and tigers, and even to
tame them by the laws of humanity. The wild ox no longer appears in Eu-
rope, which formerly enjoyed it's foreft domains in every part of it j and Rome
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Cfl AP. IL] DeßruQive Powers yield to the maintaimng, 445
at length found it difEcuIt, to procure the number of african monfters, (he re-
quired for her amphitheatres. In proportion as lands are cultivated, deferts are
diminifhed, and their wild inhabitants become more rare. In the human fpe-
cies the increafing civilization of man has had a iimilar effeA ; his difpoiition
to unruly pafiions giving way with his decreaie of Ibrength, a more delicate
creature was formed. With all this» irregularities are poilible ; and thefe fre-
quently rage more pemicioufly, from being founded on infantile weaknefs, as
the examples of many roman and eaftern defpots (how: however, as a fpoiled
child is always more eafy to reftrain than a bloodthirfty tiger, Nature, with
her corrective regulations, has taught us the way to rule (hs lawlefe, and tame
the infatiable favage, by increafing diligence. If there be no longer regions of (
dragons, to employ the arms of the giants of antiquity, we require no herculean ^ ' I^
deftrudive powers againft men themfelves. Heroes of this ftamp may purfue
their bloody game on Caucafus, or in Africa, and there feek new minotaurs to
encounter : the fociety in which they live poffeflTes the undoubted right itfelf
to deftroy all the flame-breathing oxen of a Geryon. It fulFers by it's own
fault, if it tamely yield itfelf up to them as a prey ; as it was the fault of the
nations themfelves, that they did not unite againft defolating Rome with all
the force of a common league, to maintain the freedom of the World.
2. Thefrogrefs of hißory ßowsy thaty as true Jiumanity has increafed^ the defiruc^
true demons of the human race have dimimfhed in number \ and this from the inherent
natural laxvs of a f elf 'enlightening reafon and policy.
In proportion as reafon increa(es among mankind, men muft learn from their
infancy to perceive, that there is a nobler greatnefs, than the inhuman great-
nefs of tyrants; and that it is mor^ kttdable»^ well as more, difficult» taiorm,
than to ravage a nation, to eftabli(h cities, than to deftroy them. The in-
duftrious eg}'ptians, the ingenious greeks, the mercantile phenicians, not only
make a more plcafing figure in hiftory, but enjoyed, during the period of their
exiftence, a more ufeful and agreeable life, than the deftroying perfians, the
conquering romans, the avaricious Carthaginians. The remembrance of the
former ftill hves with fame, and their influence upon Earth will continue eter-
nally with increafing power; while the ravagers, with their demoniacal might,
reaped no farther benefit, tlian that of becoming a wretched, luxurious people,
amid the ruins of their plunder, and at laft quafiing off the poifoned draught
of fevere retaliation. Such was the fate of the affyrians, babylonians, perfians,
romans : even the greeks received more injury from their internal di(renfions,
and from their luxury in many cities and provinces, than from the fword of the
enemy. Now as thefe are fundamental principles of a natural order, which not
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44« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
only (hows itfelf in particular cafes of hiftory, or in fortuitous inftances^
but is founded on it's own intrinfic properties, that is, on the nature of op-
preffion and an overftrctched power, or on the confequences of vidtory, lux-
ury and arrogance, as on the laws of a dillurbed equiponderance, and holds
on cocternally with the courfe of things: why muft we be compelled to doubt,
that this law o£Nat^jre is not as generally acknowledged as any other, and does
not operate, from the forciblencfs with which it is perceived, with the infidliblc
efficacy of a natural truth? What may be brought to mathematical certainty,
and political <lemon{lration, muft be acknowledged as truth, foon or late ; for
no one has yet queftioned the accuracy of the multiplication table or the pro-
pofittons of -Euclid.
Even our brief hiftory already demonftrates beyond all doubt, that the
increafed diffufion of true knowledge among, people has liappily diminilhed
their inhuman, mad deftroyers. Since the downfal of Rome there has arifen
no other cultivated nation in Europe, wb&ch has founded the whole of it's con-
ftitution on war and conqueft; for the military nations of the middle ages
^were rude and favage. In proportion as they advanced in civilization, and
learned to have a regard for their property, the more amiable and peaceful fpi«
rit of induftry, of agriculture, of trade, and of fciencc, forced itfelf upon them
unnoticed, or indeed often againfl: their wills. Men learned to ufe without
deftroying, as what was deftroyed was no longer capable of being ufed ; and
thus in time, from the nature of the cafe itfelf, a peaceful balance between
nations took place ; for, after centuries of wild warring, all began to perceive,
that the obje<5b of every one's wifli was not to be attained, unlefs they con-
tributed to promote it in common. Even that, which of all things appeared
moft to require exclufive poflcffion, commerce, could take no other way; as it
is a law of nature, againft which paflions and prejudice are ultimately of no
avail. Every commercial nation of Europe now laments, and will hereafter
lament ftill more, what envy or fupexftition once prompted it fooliflily to de-
ftroy. As reafon increafes, the objeft of navigation will proportionably tum
ft'om conqueft to trade ; which is founded on reciprocal juftice and courtefy,
on a progreffive emulalion to excel in arts and induftry, in fliort, on humanity
and it's eternal laws.
Our minds feel inward fatisfadion, when they not only perceive the balm,
which flows from the laws of human nature, but fee it fpread, and make it's way
among mankind, even againft their wills, from it's natural force. God himielf
could not diveft man of the capability of errour ; but he implanted this in the
nature of human miftakes, that foon or late they Ihould ibow tbemielves to
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Ch A?. IL] DeßruElive Patvers yield to the maintaining. 447
be fuch, and become evident to the calculating creature. No prudent fove-
relgn or Europe now governs his provinces, as did the kings of Perfia, or even
the romans thcmfelvesj if not from philanthropic motives, yet from a clearer
infight into the bufinefs, as with the courfe of time political calculation has be-
come more certain, eafy, and perfpicuous. A madman only would build egyp-
tian pyramids in our days ; and any one, that (hould attempt fuch ufdefs en-
terprfzes,"wbuld be deemed infane by all the rational part of the World, if not
from his want of love for the people, yet from confiderations of economy. The
bloody combats of gladiators, and barbarous fights with animals, are no longer
fuffered among us : the human fpecies has run through thefe wild tricks of
youth, and learned at length to fee, that it's mad frolics coft more than they
are worth. In like manner, we no longer require the poor opprefled flaves of
the romans, or helots of Sparta ; becaufe in our conftitutions we know how to
obtain more eafily from free beings, what they accompliflied with more dan-
ger, and even expenfe, by means of human animals : nay the time muft come,
when we (hall look back with as much compaflion on our inhuman traffic in
negroes, as on the ancient roman flaves, or fpartan helots ; if not from huma-
nity, yet from calculation. In fliort, we have to thank God, for having given
us, with our weak fallible nature, reafon, that immortal beam from his fun, the
eflence of which it is to diipel night, and (how things in their real forms.
3. The progrefs of arts and inventions puts into the hands of man increafing means
ofrefiraining or rendering innocuous^ what Nature herfelf cannot eradicate.
The furface of the fea muft be ruffled by ftorms, and the mother of all things
could not di(penfe with them for man's advantage. But what did (he beftow
on him, to compenfate thefe } The art of navigation. Tliefe very ftorms
excited man, to invent the elaborate ftrufture of his complicated fliip, which
enables him not merely to efcape the ftorm, but to profit by it's rage, and fail
on it's wings.
The wandering mariner, tofled on the ocean, could not call the fons of Tyn-
darus to appear and direft him on his courfe ; accordingly he himfelf invented
his guide the compafs, and fought in the ikies his Diofcuri, the Sun, the
Moon, and the ftars. Thus equipped with art he launched out on the bound-
lefs ocean, and braved it from the equator to the arftic circle.
Nature could not take from man the deftruftive element of fire, without
depriving him of manhood itfelf : but then, what did (he beftow on him by
means of fire ? Multifarious art : art not only to fct bounds to the devouring
poifon, and render it innocent, but even to employ it for a thoufand bencfici J
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44« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
It is the fame with the ragixig £a(CoD8 of man, as with thefe florms on the
ocean, with this raging element of fire. By and in thefe the human (pecies has
(harpened it*s reafon, and invented a thoufand means, regulations, and arts, not
only to rcftrain them, but even to turn them to advantage, as all hiftory (hows.
A race of men without paflions would never have cultivated their underftanding;
they would have ftill lain as troglodytes in fome cave.
Man-devouring war, for example, was during ages the trade of robbery
rudely exercifed. It was long the praftice of men fwayed by turbulent paffions;
for while perfonal ftrength, cunning, and addrefs, were it's requifitcs, it could
cherifli only the dangerous virtues of robbers and murderers, even in tbofc who
poffefled the moft laudable qualities j as the wars of ancient times, of the middle
ages, and even fome of modern date, abundantly teftify. But in the midft
of this depraving trade the art of war was invented, perhaps involuntarily ;
for the inventors of this art perceived not, that it would fap the founda-
tions of war itfelf. In proportion as the art of fighting became a profound
fhidy, and various mechanical inventions were introduced into it, the paflions
and brute flrength of individuals became ufelefs. Soldiers were converted
into mere machines, moved by the mind of a fingle general, and at the order of
a few commanders ; till at length fovereigns alone were permitted to play this
dangerous and cofUy game, while in ancient times almofl all warlike nations
were continually in arms. We have feen proofs of this in feveral afiatic na-
tions, and not lefs in the greeks and romans. The latter were for centurits
almofl conflantly in the field: the volfcian war continued 106 years; the
famnite, 71: the city of Veii was befieged ten years, like a fecond Troy : and
the deftrudive peloponnefian war of 28 years among the greeks is Efficiently
known. But as in all wars, to fall in battle is the leaft of evils, while the dif-
eafes and devaftation, that attend the motions of an army, or the fiege of a
town, with the lawlefs fpirit of plunder, that then pervades all ranks and con-
ditions, are much greater evils, which paflion-ftirring war calls forth in a thou-
fand frightful forms ; we may thank the greeks and romans, and flill more the
inventors of gunpowder and firearms, for having reduced Che moft favage trade
to an art, and latterly indeed the moft honourable art of crowned heads. Since
kings have perfonally engaged in this game of honour, with armies as devoid
of paffion as numerous, we are fccured from lieges of ten years duration, or
wars of fcvcnty, carried on merely for the honour of the commander ; for the
very magnitude of an army is fufficient to prevent the continuance of war.
Thus, conformably to an umilterablc law of nature, the evil itfelf has produced
fome good j the art of war having fupprelTed in a certain degree the praftice of
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Chap. II.] DcßruHkje Powers yield to the Maintaining. 449
warfare. This art has likewife diminiflied plunder and devaftation, if not from
philanthropy, yet for the honour of the general. The laws of war, and^the
treatment of prifoners, arc become incomparably milder, than they were even
among the greeks j not to mention the public fecurity, which firft exilled
merely in warlike ftates. The whole roman empire, for inftance, enjoyed
fecurity in it's highways, as they were covered by the wings of it's eagles ;
while travelling was dangerous to a foreigner in Afia and Africa, and even in
Greece, becaufe in thefe countries a general fpirit of fecurity was wanting.
Thus the poifon was converted into a medicine, as foon as it came into the
hands of art : generations indeed were fwept away, but the immortal whole
outlived the fuiferings of the parts that difappeared, and learned good even
from evil.
If this be true of the art of war, it muft ftill more of the fcience of politics ;
the ftudy of which, however, is more intricate, as in it centres the welfare of a
whole nation. Even the favages of America have their politics ; yet in how
confined a ftate ! being of advantage indeed to a few particular families, but by
no means fecuring the whole people from ruin. Several little nations have ex-
terminated one another ; others are fo thinned, that a fimilar fate probably
awaits many of them, from their unequal conteft with the fmall-pox, fpirituous
liquors, and the avarice of europeans. The more the pohtical fyftem of a
ftate became an art, both in Afia and Europe, the more ftable it was in itfclf,
and the more clofely it was connefted with others, fo that one could not fall
without the reft. Thus ftands China, thus Japan; ancient edifices, the
foundations of which lie deep beneath their walls. The conftitution of Greece,
the principal republics of which contended centuries for the balance of power,
was ftill more elaborate. Common dangers united them : and had the union
been perfeft, thefe aftive people would have withftood Philip and the romans
with no lefs glory, than they once gained againft Xerxes and Darius. The
defeftive politics of the neighbouring nations alone gave Rome her advantage :
feparately they were attacked j feparately they were conquered. Rome ex-
perienced a fimilar fate, when (he declined in the arts of war and politics : fo
did Judea ; and fo did Egypt. No people, whofe ftate is well regulated, can
perifli, even fuppofing them to be conquered, as China fliows even with all it's
faults.
The utility of an art profoundly underftood is more evident, when we fpeak
of the internal economy of a country, it's trade, it's adminiftration of juftice, it's
fciences, and it's manufaftures. In all thefe it is obvious, the greater the art, the
more the advantage. A true merchant employs no deception, becaufe deceit never
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450 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookXV,
Jeads to wealth : as the man of real learning never makes a parade of (alfe
fcience ; äs the judge, who defcrves the name, is never knowingly unjuft ;
for this would be to confefs themfelves tyroes, not mafters of their arts. As
certainly muft the time come, when the irrational politician will be afhamed
of his ignorance ; and when it will be as abfurd and ridiculous, to be a tyran«
nical defpot, as it has ever been deteftable. It will then be clear as day, that
every irrational politician reckons with an erroneous multiplication table, and
that, however great the fums he calculates, no real advantage is obtained
from them. For this hiftory is written ; and in the courfe of it the pn>o& o{
this propofition will become evident. All the faults of government muft
precede, and exhauft themfelves as it were ; that, after all their difbrders, man
may at length perceive the happinefs of his (pecies to depend not on any thing
arbitrary, but oa an eflential law of nature^ on reafon and equity. To the
developement of this law we now proceed ; and may the internal force of
truth ftamp light and conviftion on the propofition.
CHAPTER m.
Tie human Race is deflined to proceed through various Degrees of Civilization^ in
various Mutations ; but the Permanency of it's Welfare is founded folely andejfen--
tially on Reafon and Jußice^
First natural law. It is demonftrated in phyfical mathematics, that to the
permanent condition of a thing a fort of perfe^ion is reqiüßte^ a maximum or minimum^
ariftng out of the mode of a^iiqn of the powers of that thing. Thus, for example,
our Earth could not poffefs durability, if it's centre of gravity did not lie deep
within it, and all it's powers aft to and from this, in equiponderating harmony.
Ever}' ftable being, therefore, bears in itfelf, according to this beautiful law of
nature, it's phyfical truth, goodnefs, and neceffity, as the grounds of it's
ftability.
Second natural law. It is in like manner demonftrated, that all perßeiion and
beauty of compound y limited things ^ or fyflems ofthem^ reß onfuch a maximum. Thus
fimilitude and difference, fimplicity in means and diverfity in cffeds, the
flighteft application of power to attain the moft certain or profitable end, form
a kind of fymmetry and harmonious proportion, univerfally obferved by Nature,
in her laws of motion, in the form of her creatures, in the greateft things and
in the leaft ; and imitated by the art of man, as far as his powers extend. In
this, many rules limit each other, fo that what would be greater according to
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Chap. III.] Mmfs permanent Welfare founded on Reafon and Jußice. 45 1
one is diminifhed by another, till the compound whole attains the mod beau*
tiful form, with the greateft economy, and at the fame time internal confiftency,
goodnefs, and truth. An excellent law, which baniOies from Nature every
thing arbitrary, and all diforder ; and difplays to us, even in every variable and
limited pait of the creation, a rule of the higheft beauty.
Third natural law. It is equally proved, that, if a ieingy or fyflem of beingSy
be forced out of this permanent condition of it's truth, goodnefs, and beauty, it will
again approach it by it's ifiternal powers, either in vibrations, or in an ajymptote -,
as out of thisßate it finds no flability. The more aftive and multifarious the
powers, the lefs is the imperceptible ftraight courfe of the afymptote poflible,
and the more violent the vibrations and ofcillations, till the difturbed fubjefl:
attain an equilibrium of it's powers, or harmony in their movements, and there-
with the permanent condition effential to it.
Now as mankind, both taken as a whole, and in it*s particular individuals,
focieties, and nations, is a permanent natural fyftem of the mod multifaiious
living powers ; let us examine, wherein it's ftability confifts ; in what point
it's higheft beauty, truth, and goodnefs, unite \ and what courfe it takes, in
order to reapproach it's permanent condition, on every aberration from it, of
which many are exhibited to us by hiftory and experience.
1. The human fpecies is fuch a copious fcheme of energies and capacities, that,
as every thing in nature refts on the moft determinate individuality, it's great
and numerous capacities could not appear on our planet otherwife than divided
among millions. Every thing has been bom, that could be born upon it j and
every thing has maintained itfelf, that could acquire a ftate of permanence
according to the laws of Nature. Thus every individual bears within himfelf
that fymmetry, for which he is made, and to which he muft mould himfelf,
both in his bodily figure, and mental capacities. Human exiftence appears
in every (hape and kind, from the moft fickly deformity, that can fcarcely
fupport life, to the fuperhuman form of a grecian demigod; from the
paffionate ardour of the negro brain, to the capacity for confummate wifdom.
Through feults and crrours, through education, neceflity, and exercife, every
morta[feeks the fymmetry of his powers ; as in this alone the moft complete
enjoyment of his exiftence lies : yet few are fufEciently fortunate, to attain it in
the pureft, happieft manner.
2. As an individual man can fubfift of himfelf but very imperfeöly, afupe-
riour maximum of cooperating powers is formed with every fociety. Thefe powers
contend together in wild confiifion, till, agreeably to the unfailing laws of nature,
oppofing regulations limit each other, and a kind of equilibrium and harmony
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452 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
of movement takes place. Thus nations modify themfelves, according to time,
place, and their internal charafter : each bears in itfelf the ftandard of it's per-
feftion, totally independant of all comparifon with that of others. Now the
more pure and fine the may imnm jjji- which a people hit, the more ufeful the
objefts to which it applied the exertions of it's nobler powers, and, laftly, the
more firm and exaft the bond of union, which moft intimately conneded all
the members of the ftate, and guided them to this good end ; the more liable
was the nation itfelf, and the more brilliant the figure it made in hiftory. The
courfe that we have hitherto taken through certain nations fl^ows how different,
according to place, time, and circumftances, was the objeft for which they
ftrove. With the chinefe it was refined political morality ; with the hindoos,
a kind of retired purity, quiet affiduity in labour, and endurance ; with the
phenicians, the fpirit of navigation, and commercial induftry. The culture
of the greeks, particularly at Athens, proceeded on the maximum of fenfibJe
beauty, both in arts and manners, in fcicnce and in political inftitutions. ' In
Sparta, and in Rome, men emulated the virtues of the patriot and hero;
in each, however, in a very different mode. Now as in all thcfe moft
depended on time and place, the ancients will fcarcely admit of being com-
pared with each other in the moft diftinguiflied features of national fame.
3. In all, however, we fee the operation of one principle^ namely human reafon^
which endeavours to produce unity out of multiplicity, order out of diibrder,
and out of variety of powers and defigns one fymm:trical and durably beautiful
whole. From the (hapelefs artificial rocks, mt\\ which the chinefe ornaments
his garden, to the egyptian pyramid, or the ideal beauty of Greece, -the plan
and defign of a refle<51:ing underftanding is every where obfervable, though in
very different degrees. The more refined the refleftions of this underftanding
were, and the nearer it came to the point, which is the h'igheft in it's kind, and
s^dmits no deviation to the right or to the left ; the more were it's performances
to be confidered as models, for they contain eternal rules for the human un-
derftanding in all ages. Thus nothing of the kind can be conceived fupcriour
to an egyptian pyramid, or to feveral greek and roman works of art. They
are iSmple folutions of certain problems of the underftanding, which admit no
arbitrary fuppofition, that the problems are perhaps not yet folved, or mi^t
be folved in a better way j for in them the fimplc idea of what they ought to
be is difplayed in the eafieft, fuUeft, and moft beautiful manner. Every
deviation from them would be a fault ; and were they to be repeated and
diveriified in a tlioufand modes, we muft ftill return to that fingle point, which
is the higheft of it's kind.
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Ch A p . III.] Marts permanent Welfare founded on Reafon and Jußice* 45 j
4. Thus through all the poliflied nations, that we have hitherto confidered,
or (hall hereafter confider, a chain^ cultivation may be drawn, flying ofl" in ex-
tremely divergent curves. In each it defignates increafing and decreafing great-
nefs, and has maximums of every kind. Many of thefe cxeludc or limit one an-
other, till at length a certain fymmetry takes place in the whole ; fo that were
we to reafon from one perfedlion of any nation concerning another, we fliould
form very treacherous conclufions. Thus, becaufe Athens had exqüifite orators»
it does not follow, that it's form of government muft likewife have been the
heft poffible ; or that, becaufe the chinefe moralize fo excellently, their ftate
muft be a pattern for all others. Forms of government refer to a very different
maximum, from that of beautiful morals, or apathetic oration'j notwithftanding,
at bottom, all things in any nation have a certain connexion, if it be only that
of cxciufion and limitation. No other maximum, but that of the moft perfeft
bond of union, produces the moft happy ftates j even fuppofing the people
are in confequence obliged, to difpenfe with many (hining qualities.
5. But in one and the fame nation every maximum of it's commendable
endeavours ought. not and cannot endure for ever; fince it is but one point
in the progrefs of time. This inceflantly moves on ; and the more numerous
the clrcumfl:ances, on which the beautiful efledl depends, the fooner is it liable
to pafs away. Happy if it's mafter pieces remain as rules for future ages ;
fince thofe tliat immediately fucceed approach them too near, and will probably
obliterate by attempting to excel them. Even the moft adtive people fre-
quently fink moft fpeedily from the boiling to the freezing point.
The hiftory of particular fciences and nations has to calculate thefe maxima»
and I wi(h we had fuch a hiftory only of the moft celebrated nations during
the periods beft known. At prefent we ipeak only of human hiftory in general»
and of it's ftate of permanence in every form and climate. This is nothing
elfe than humanUy.^JCli>i9X is, reafon and equity in all conditions^ and in all occupations
of men. And this indeed it is, not through the will of a fovereign^ or the
perfuafive power of tradition, but through natural laws, on which the efiTence
of man repofes. Even his moft corrupt inftitutions cry aloud : * had not a
glimmering of equity and reafon been retained in us» we (hould long have
ceafed to be, nay we never (hould have exifted.' As the whole tifiTue of
human hiftory proceeds firom thb point, to it we muft carefully bend our
view.
Firß. What is it we efteem» and after which we inquire, in all human works P
Rgafnni planj aad purpole. If thefe be wanting, nothing human is accom-
I>li(hed« a blind power is difplayed. Wherever our underftanding roams
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454 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
throughout the wide field of hiftory, it feeks only itfelf, it finds only itfelf.
The nearer it approaches pure truth, and the gppd of mankind, in all it's under-
takings ; the more durable, ufeful, and beautiful are it's works, and the more
their rules meet the hearts and minds of all people, in all ages. Socrates and
Confucius, Plato, Cicero, and Zoroaftcr, agree unaoioMmfly in what conftitutes
clear underftanding, and juft morals : in fpite of their various differences, they
have all laboured to one point, on which our whole fpccies refls. As the
wanderer 'enjoys no greater delight, than when he every where difcovers, even
unexpeftedly, the traces of a thinking, feeling mind, like his own ; fo are we
delighted when in the hiftory of our (pecies the echo of all ages and nations
reverberates nothing from the nobleft minds, but truth and benevolence to-
wards man. As my reafon feeks the connexion of things, and my heart re-
joices when it perceives it ; fo has every honeft man fought it : though, probably,
from the point of view which his fituation afforded, he faw it differently, and
differently defcribed it. Where he erred, he eiTed both for himfelf and me,
as he warned me againft fimilar errours. Where he guides me truly, inftrufts,
folaccs, animates me, he is my brother ; a (barer in the lame foul of the World,
the one human reafon, the one human truth.
Secondly. As there is not a more pleating fight in all hiftory, than that of a
man of gpodnefs and underftanding, who, in fpite of all the changes of fortune,
remains the fame in every period of his life, and in every thing he does \ fo our
pity is excited in a thoufand ways, when we perceive even in great and good
men errours of the underftanding, which, according to the laws of nature, cannot
fail to bring upon them neceffary pains. We too firequently meet with thefe
fallen angels in hiftory, and have to lament the weaknefs of the moulds, that
human reafon employs for her inftrumcnts. How little can a mortal bear,
without bending underneath the load ! how little that is extraordinary can
come in his way, without turning him from it ! A flight honour, a glimpfe of
good fortune, or an unexpedted occurrence in life, is a fufficient ignis fatuus»
to miflead one into quagmires, or over precipices : another is ignorant of his own
powers, attempts what is above his ftrength, and faints under the enterprize.
We are feized with fentiments of compaffion, when we perceive fuch, unfor-
tunately fortunate, on the point of deviating from the path of reafon, juftice,
and happinefs, which they feel the want of fb^ength any longer to purfue. Be-
hind them ftands the grafping furjs and impels them againft their will to overftep
the line of moderation : they are new in her hand, and probably will fuller
during the remainder of their lives the confequences of a flight folly, and dcre-
liftion of reafon. Or if Fortune have raifcd them too high, and they fed
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Ch A p . III.] MarCs permanent Welfarefounied on Reafon and Jußice. 455
thcmfelves on her higheft pinnacle, what prefents itfelf to their foreboding
minds, but the inconftancy of this fickle goddefs, and misfortune burfting from
the very feeds of their fuccefs ? In vain, compafSonate Caefar, didfl: thou turn
afide thy face, when the head of thy defeated enemy Pompey was brought to
thee, and build a temple to Ncmefis. Already thou hadft pafled the con-
fines of Fortune, as well as the banks of the Rubicon ; the goddefs was now
behind thee, and thy bloody corfe was doomed, to fall at the feet of the ftatuc
of that very Pompey. The conftitutions of countries experience a fimilar
fate, as they depend on the reafon or folly of a few, who are their rulers,
or by whom their rulers are fwayed. The moft beautiful inftitutions,
which promifed mankind the moft profitable fruits for ages, have often been
torn to pieces by the folly of an individual, who has felled the tree, inftead of
lopping a few of it's branches. Succefs is moft difficult to be born by whole
realms, as well as by individuals ; whether they be governed by monarchs and
defpots, or by fenates and the people. The people and the defpot are the
leaft capable of perceiving the warning nod of the goddefs of fate : dazzled by
the fplendour of vainglory, or made giddy by the found of a name, they rulh
beyond the bounds d" prudence and humanity, and perceive the confequences
of their folly too late. This was the fate of Rome, of Athens, and of many
nations ; as well as of Alexander, and moft of the conquerors, that have dif-
turbed the peace of the World : for Injuftice is the ruin of every country, as
Folly of every human undertaking. Thefe are the furies of Fate : Misfortune
is no more than their younger fitter, the third member of the fearful con-
federacy.
Great father of mankind, what an ea(y yet difficult lefTon haft thou given
thy family upon Earth for the whole of their tafk ! They have nothing to learn,
but reafon ancj jufticc^jUöne : if they pradtife thefe,. light gradually enters their
minds, goodnefs their hearts, perfection their ftates, happinefs their lives. Ea-
dowcd with thefe gifts, and making proper application of them, the negro
may form his fociety as well as the greek> the troglodyte as well as tlie chinefe.
Experience will lead each farther ; and Reafon, united with Equity, will give
confiftence, beauty, and fymmetry, to his undertakings. But if he dcfert thefe,
the efTential guides of his life, what can give ftability to his good-fortune, and
fave him from the furies of Inhumanity ?
Thirdly, It follows likewife, that, whenever the equilibrium of reafon and
humanity is difturbed among men, a return to it fcldom occurs, except by
violent ofcillations from one extreme to the other. One paffion kicks up
the fcale of reafon, another drives it down, and thus hiftory goes on for years
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456 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
and ages, before the period of tranquillity returns. Thus Alexander deftroycd
the equilibrium of an extenfive region of the World ; and it was long after his
o death before the ftorm fubfided. TItüs Rome (Jlfturbcd the peace of the
;.^ ?ii ''^M^ Globe for more than a thoufand years ; and half a World of favage nations was
requifite for the flow reftoration of it's quiet. The peaceable progrefs of an
afymptote could by no means be expefted, in thefe convulfions of countries
and nations. The channel of cultivation on our Earth, with it's abrupt
corners, it's faliant and reentering angles, fcarctly ever exhibits a gentle ftream,
but rather the rufhing of a torrent from the mountains. Such are the
cffefts of human paffions. It is evident, too, that the general compofition
of our fpecies is calculated and eftablifhed on fuch alternating vibrations. As
our walk is a continual Ming to the right and to the. left, and yet we advance
at every ftep ; fo is the progrefs of cultivation in races of men, and in whole
nations.' Individually we often try both extremes, before we hit the point of
reft, as the pendulum ofcillates from fide to fide. Generations are renewed in
continual change; and in fpite of all the direft precepts of tradition, the fon
advances in his own way. Ariftotle was affiduous to diftinguifh himfclf from
Plato, Epicurus from Zeno, till more tranquil pofterity could at laft impartially
profit by both extremes. Thus, as in the machine of our body, the work of
time proceeds to the good of the human race by neccflary oppofition, and
acquires from it pennanent health. But through whatever turnings and an-
gles the ftream of human reafon may wind and break, it arofc from the eternal
fountain of truth, and by virtue of it's nature can never be loft in it's couric.
Whoever draws from it, draws life and duration.
For the reft, both reafon and juftice hinge on one and the fame law of nature^
from which the ftability of our being likewife flows. Reafon weighs and com-
pares the relations of things, that flie may difpofe them in durable fymmetry.
Juftice is nothing elfe than a moral fymmetry of reafon, the formula of the
equilibrium of contending powers, on the harmony of which the whole creation
repofes. Thus one and the fame law reaches from the Sun, and from all the
funs in the univerfe, to the moft infignificant human adtion: one law upholds
all beings, and their fyftems j the relation of their powers to periodical r^
and order.
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C 4i7 I
CHAPTER IV.
Frm tU LmfS of their intermü Nature^ Reafon and Jußice muß gain nme Foatit^
among Men in the Courfe of Time^ and promote a more durable Humanity.
All tbe doubts and complaints of men, refpeAing the uncertainty and
little obfcrvable progrefs of good in hiltery, arife from this, that the melancholy
wanderer fees too little on his way. If he extended his view, and impartially
compared with each other the times, that we moft accurately know from
hiftory j farther, if he dived into thie nature of man, and weighed what truth
and realbn are ; he would doubt as little of their progrefs, as of the moft indif-
putable phyfical truth. For thoufands of years our fun and all the fixed ftars
were fuppofcd to be inunovable : a fortunate telefcope now permits us no
longer to doubt of their movement. So in fome future age, a more accurate
comparifon of the periods exhibited in the hiftory of our fpecies will not merely
give lis a fuperficial view of this exhilarating truth, but, in fpite of all apparent
diforder, will enable us to calculate the laws, according to which this progrefs
is effefted by the power of human nature. Standing on the vei^e of ancient
hiftory, as on a central point, I (hall do no more than curforily note a few
general principles, )vhich will ferve as leading ftars, to guide us on our
future way.
Firft. Times conneEl them/elves together^ in virtue of their nature \ and with
them the child of Time^ the race of mankind^ with all it*s operations and produSfions.
No fophiftical argument can lead us to deny, that our Earth has grown
older in the courfe of fome thoufands of years ; and that this wanderer round the
Sun is greatly altered fince it's origin. In it's bowels we perceive how it once
was conftituted ; and we need but look around us, to fee it's prefent coqftitu-
tion. The ocean foams no longer ; it is fubfided peaceably into it's bed :
the wandering flreams have found their (hores ; and plants and animals have
run through a progreffive feries of years in their different races. As not a fun-
beam has been Joft upon our Earth fince it's creation ; fo no falling leaf, no
wafted feed, no carcafe of a decaying animal, and ftill lefs an aftion of any
living being, has been without effe£t. Vegetation, for example, has increafed,
and extended itfelf as far as it could : every living race has fpread within the
limits nature afiigned it, through the means of others : and even the fenfelefs
devaftations of man, as well as his induftry, have been aftive implements in the
iiand of Time. Frefli harvefts have waved over the ruins of the cities he has
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45« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XV.
deftroyed : the elements have ftrewcd the dull of oblivion upon them ; and
foon new generations have arifen, who have eredled new buildings upon the
old, and even with their ancient remains. Omnipotence itfelf cannot ordain,
that^efieds (hall not be eifefts : it cannot reftore the Earth to what it was thou-
fands of years ago, fo that thefe thoufands of years, with all their confequences,
Ihall not have been.
Already therefore a certain progrefs of the human fpecics is infeparable from
the progrefs of Time, as far as man is included in the family of Time and
Earth. Were the progenitor of mankind now to appear, and view his de-
fendants, how would he be aftonißied ! His body was formed for a youthful
Earth ; his frame, his ideas, and his way of life, muft have been adapted to that
conftitution of the element», which then prevailed j and coniiderable alteration
in this muft have taken place, in the courfe of fix thoufand years or upwards.
In many parts America is no longer what it was when difcovered : two thou-
fand years hence, it's ancient hiftory will have the air of romance. Thus we
read the hiftory of the fiege of Troy, and feek in vain the (pot where it
ftoodj in vain the grave of Achilles, or the godlike hero himfelf./Were a
colledion of all the accounts, that have been given of the fize and figure of the
ancients, of the kind and quantity of their food, of their daily occupations and
amufements, and of their notions of love and marriage, the virtues and the
pafiions, the purpofe of life and a future exiftence, made with difcriminating
accuracy, and with regard to time and place, it would be of no fmall advantage
toward a hiftory of man. /Even in this (hort period, an advancement of the
fpecies would be fufficiently confpicuous to evince both the confiftcncy of ever-
youthful Nature, and the progredive changes of our old mother Earth. Earth
nurlcs not man alone : (he prcfTcs all her children to one bofom, embraces all
in the fame maternal arms : and, when one changes, all muft undergo change.
It is undeniable, too, that this progrefs of time has influenced the mode of
thinking of the human fpecies. Bid a man now invent, now fing an Iliad -
bid him write like ^fchylus, like Sophocles, like Plato : it is impofEble. The
^hUdifh^fimplicity, the unprejudiced mode of feeing things, in fhort the youth-
ful period of the greeks, is gone by. It is the fame with the hebrcws> and the
xomans ; while on the other hand we are acquainted with a number of things,
of which both the romans and the hebrcws were ignorant» One day teaches
another, one century inftrufts another century : tradition is enriched : the mufe
of Time, Hiftory, herfelf fings with a hundred voices, fpcaks with a hundred
tongues. Be there as much filth, as much confiifion, as there will, in the vaft
foowball rolled up by Timej yet this very confufion is the offspring of ages.
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Chap. IV.] Reafon and Jußice gain in the Courfe of time. 459
which could have arifen only from the unwearied rolling on of one and the fame
thing. Thus every return to the ancient times, even the celebrated year of
Plato, is a fiftion, is, from the ideas of the World and of Time, an impoffibility.
We float onward : but the ftream that has once flowed, returns no more to
it's fource.
Secondly. The habitations of mankind render the progrefs of the human fpeciesßill
more evident.
Where are the times when people dwelled as troglodytes, difperfed about in
caves, behind their walls, and every ftrangcr was an enemy ? Merely from the
courfe of time no cave, no wall, afibrded fecurity : men muft learn to know one
another ; for coUeftively they arc but one family, on one planet of no great
extent. It is a melancholy rcfledlion, that every where they firft learned to
know oae another as enemies, and beheld each other with aftonifliment as fo
many wolves : but fuch was the order of nature. The weak feared the ftrong;
the deceived, the deceiver j he who had been expelled, him who could again
expel him ; the unexperienced child, every ftranger. This infantile fear, how-
ever, and all it's abufes, could not alter the courfe of nature: the bond of union
between nations was knit, though, from the rude ftate of man, in a rough
manner. Growing reafon may burfl: the knots, but cannot untwift the band,
and flill lefs undo the difcpveries, that have once been made. What are the
geologies of Mofes and Orpheus, Homer and Herodotus, Strabo and Pliny,
compared with ours ? What was the commerce of the phenicians, greeks, and
romans, to the trade of Europe ? Thus with what has hitherto been efiedted
the clew to the labyrinth of what is to be done is given us. Man, while he
continues man, will not ceafe from wandering over his planet, till it is com-
pletely known to him : from this neither ftorms nor fliipwreck, nor thofe vafl:
mountains of ice, nor all the perils of either pole, will deter him \ no more than
they have deterred him from the firft moft difficult attempts, even when
navigation was very dcfeftive. The incentive to all thcfe enterprizes lies in his
own breaft, lies in man's nature. Curiofity, and the inGitiable defire of wealth,
fame, difcovery, and increafe of ftrength, and even new wants and difcontents,
infeparable from the prefent courfe of things, will impel him ; and they by
whom dangers have been furmounted in former times, his celebrated and fuc-
cefsful predeceflTors, will animate him. Thus the will of providence will be
promoted both by good and bad incentives, till man knows and a£bs upon
the whole of his fpecies. To him the Earth is given ; and he will not defift,
tiU it is wholly his own, at leaft as &r as regards knowledge and ufe. Are we
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46o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXV.
not already afliamed, that one hemifphere of our planet remained for fo long a
time as unknown to us, as if it had been the other fide of the Moon ?
/ Thirdly. In confequence cfthe internal tiature of the human mindy ifs a^ivitj has
hitherto been employed folely on vieans of grounding mm'e deeply the humanity and cul^
tivationofourfpeciesy and extending them farther. /
How vaft the progrefs from the firft raft that floated on the water to an
european fliip ! Neither the inventor of the former, nor the many inventors of
the various arts and fciences that contribute to navigation, ever formed the lead
conception of what would arife from the combination of their difcoveries: each
obeyed his particular impulfe of want or curiofity : but it is inherent in the na-
ture of the human intelleft, and of the general connexion of all things, that no
attempt, no difcovery, can be made in vain. Thofe iflanders, who had never
feen an european veflel, beheld the monfter with aftonilhment, as fomc prodigy
of another World ; and were ftiU more aftoniflied when they found, that men
like thcmfelves could guide it at pleafure over the tracklcfs ocean. Could
their aftonifhment "have been converted into rational reflexion on every great
purpofe, and every little mean, of this floating world of art, how much higher
would their admiration of the human mind have arifcn ? Whither do not the
hands of europcans at prefent reach, by means of this fingle implement?
Whither may they not reach hereafter ?
Befide this art, others innumerable have been invented within the fpace of a
few years by mankind, that extend riieir fway over air and water, over Earth
and Heaven. And when we refled, that but few nations were engaged in this
contcfl: of mental aöivity, while the greater part of the reft flumbcred in the lap
of ancient cuftom J when we refleft, that almoft all our inventions were made
at vciy early periods, and fcarcely any trace, fcarcely any ruin, of an ancient
ftrufture, or an ancient inftitution, exifts, that is not coniieftcd with our early
hiftory j what a profpedt does this hiftorically demonftrated aftivity of the hu-
man mind give us for the infinity of fiiture ages ! In the few centuries during
which Greece flouriflied, in the few centuries of modem improvement, how
much has been conceived, invented, done, reduced to order, and preferved for
future ages, in Europe, the leaft quarter of the Globe, and almoft in it's fmalleft
parts ! How prolific the feeds, that art and fciencc have copioufly fbcd, while
one nouriflies, one animates and excites the other ! As when a ftring is touched,
not only every thing that has mufic rcfounds to it, but all it's harmonious tones
tcecho the found, till it becomes imperceptible; fo the human mind has invented
and citated, when an harmonious point of it's interiour has been bit. When a
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Chap. IV.] Reafon and Jußkegain in the Courft of ^ime. 46 1
new concord was ftruck, in a creation where every thing is conneftcd, innu-
merabie new concatenations followed of cotirfe.
But, it may be afked, how have all thefe arts and inventions been applied ?
Have praftical rcafon and jüfticc, and confequently the tme improvement and
happinefs of the human fpecies, been promoted by them ? In reply I refer to
what has recently been urged refpedting the progrefs of diforder throughout the
whole creation : that, according to an intrinfic law of nature, nothing can
attain durability, which is the eflentral aim of all things, without order. A
keen knife in the hand of a child may wound it : yet the art that invented and
fliarpened the knife is one of the moft indifpenfable of arts. All that ufe fuch a
knife are not children; and even the child will be taught by pain, to ufe it
better. Attificial power in the hand of a defpot, foreign luxury in a nation
without controlling laws, are fuch pernicious implements ; but the very mif-
chief they do will render mien wifer; and, foon or late, the art, that created
luxury as well as delpotifm, will firft confine both within due bounds, and
then convert them into real benefits. The heavy ploughfhare wears itfelf out by
long ufe: the flight teeth of new watchwork gain merely by their revolution the
more fuitablc and artful form of the epicycloid. Thus in human powers abufes
carried to excefs wear themfelves-xlown to good practices: extreme ofcillations
from fide to fidcncceflarily fettle in the defirable mean of lading fitnefs in a re-
gular movement. Whatever is to take place among mankind will be effefted
by men : we fuffer under our faults, till we learn of ourfelves the better ufe of
our faculties, without the afliftance of miracles from Heaven.
We have not the leafl reafon, therefore, to doubt, that every good employ«
ment of the human underflanding neccflTarily muft and will, at fome time or
other, promote humanity. Since agriculture has prevailed, men and acorns have
ceafed to be food. Man found, that he could live better, more decently, and
more humanely, on the pleafing gifts of Ceres, than on the flefh of his fellows,
or the fruits of the oak -, and was compelled fo to live by the laws of men wifer
than himfelf. After men had learned to build houfes and towns they ceafed to
dwell in caves: under the laws of a commonweal, the poor flranger was no lon-
ger liable to death. Thus trade brought nations together: and the more it*s
advantages were generally underftood ; the kf$ murders, oppreflions, and de-
ceptions, which are always figns of ignorance in commerce, would neceflarily be
praÄifcd. Every addition to the ufeful arts fecures men's property, diminiflies
their labour, extends their Inhere of aftivity, and neceflarily lays therewith the
foundations of farther cultivation and hum.anity. What labour was favcd, for
example, by the finglc invention of printing 1 What an extenfivc circulation of
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462 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XV.
men's ideas, arts, and fciences, did it promote ? Were an european Kang-Ti
now to attempt, to eradicate the literature of this quarter of the Globe, he
would find it impofSble. Had the phenicians and Carthaginians, the greeks
and romans, poffefled this art ; the deftruöicn cf their literature would not have
been fo cafy to their fpoilers, if it could by any means have been accomplifticd.
Let favage nations burft in upon Europe, they could not withftand ourtaftics;
and no Attila will again extend his march from the (horcs of the Black fea and
the Cafpian to the plains of Catalonia. Let monks, fybarites, fenatics, and
tyrants, arife, as they will ; it is no longer in their power, to bring back the
night of the middle ages. Now as no greater benefit can be conceived to arife
from any art, divine or human, than not merely to bcftow on us.light and order,
but from it's very nature to extend and fecure them ; let us thank the Creator,
that he conferred underßanding on mankind, and made art effential to it. In
them we pofefs the fecret and the means of fecuring order in the World.
Neither need we any way repine, that many excellently conceived theories,
jnorals not excepted, have remained fo long without being carried into practice
among mankind. The child learns much, which the man alone can apply;
but he has not therefore learned in vain. The youth heedleßly forgets, what
at fome future period he muft take pains to recoUedt, or learn a (econd time.
So no truth that is treafured up, nay no truth that is difcovered, among a race
continually renovating, is wholly in vain: future circumftances will render
neccflary what is now delpifed j and in the infinityof things every cafe muft oc-
cur, that can in any way exercift the human fpecies. As in the creation we firft
conceive th^ power ^ that formed Chaos, and then diipofing ze;^(7/97, and harmo-
nious goodnefs'i fo the natural order of mankind firft developes rude powers:
diforder itfelf muft guide them into the path of underftanding; and the farther
the underftanding purfues it's work, the more it perceives, that goodncfs alone
can beftow on it durability, perfeftion, and beauty.
CHAPTER V.
A wife Goodnefs difpofes the Fate of Mankind-^ therefore there is no nobler
Merits no purer and more durable Happinefsy than to cooperate in ifs Defigns.
Th e fenfual contemplator of hiftor}', who in it has loft fight of God, and
begun to doubt of Providence, has fallen into this misfortune, from having taken
too fuperficial a view of his fubjeft, or from having had no juft conception of
Providence, If he have conCdered Providence as an apparition, that was to
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Chap. V.] fVife Goodnifs difpofes the Fate of Mankind. 463
meet him at every turn, and continually interrupt the courfe of human aftions,
to accomplifh this or that particular objeft of his will and fancy j I confefs hif-
tory is the grave of fuch a Providence, but certainly to the advantage of truth.
For what kind of a Providence muft it be, that every one could employ as a
hobgoblin in the order of things, as the agent of his narrow defigns, as the ally
of his pitiful follies; fo that the whole would ultimately remain without a
matter! The God, whom I feek in hiftory, muft be the fame as in nature:
for man is but a fmali part of the whole j and his hiftory, Tike that of the grub,
is intimately interwoven with that of the web he inhabits. In it, therefore,
natural laws muft prevail, that are inherent in the eflence of things; and with
which the deity is fo far from being able to difpenfe, that he reveals himfelf in
his fupreme power, with invariable wifdom, goodnefs, and beauty, even in
thofe which himfelf has founded. Every thing, that can take place upon Earth,
muft take place upon it, provided it happens according to rules, that carry their
perfcdlion within themfelves. Let us repeat thefe rules, which we have already
developed, as far as they regard the hiftor}' of mankind: they all bear in them-
felves the ftamp of wife goodnefs, of exalted beauty, and even of intrinfic nc-
ceflity.
1. Everything, that can live on our Earth, lives upon it: for every organi-
zation carries in it's eflence an union of various powers, which limit each other,
and thus limited are capable of attaining in themfelves a maximum of durabi-
lity. Could they not attain this, the powers would feparate, and form unions
of a different kind.
2. Among thefe organized bodies man arofe, the crown of the terreftrial
creation. Innumerable powers united in him, and attained a maximum,
the underftanding; as their material parts, the human body, did alfo, in the
centre of gravity, according to laws of the moft beautiful fymmetry and order.
Thus in the charadler of man were given the bafis of his duration and happinefs,
the ftamp of his deftination, and the whole courfe of his earthly fate.
3. This cliarader of man is termed intelligence : for it underftands the lan-
guage of God in the creation, that is, it feeks the rule of order, according to
^hich things are founded conneftedly on their eflenccs. Thus it's intrinfic law
is the perception of exiftence and truth; the connexion of creatures according
to their relations and qualities. It is an image of the deity : for it invcftigatcs
the laws of nature, the ideas in conformity to which the Creator connefted
them, and which he made eflential to them. Reafon, therefore, can no more
aft arbitrarily, than God himfelf has thought at random.
4. Man began to perceive and to examine the powers of nature from his im-
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464 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boon XV.
mediate wants. His aim extended no farther than to his well being, that is, to
the due employment of his own powers in exercife and reft. He became con-
nefted with other beings; and ftill his own ftate of exiftence was the mcafure of
his connexions. The rule of equity preffcd itfelf upon him ; for this is nothing
more than praftical reafon, the meafure of the adtions and rcaftions of fimilar
beings for the general fccurity.
5. Human nature is conftrufted on this principle ; fo that no individual can
fuppofe himfelf to exift for the lake of another, or of pofterity. If the lowed in
the rank of men follow the law of reafon and juftice, that is within him; he
pofleffes confiftency; that is, he enjoys durability and well being; he is rati-
onal, juft, and happy. Thefe he is not by the will of another creature, or of
the creator, but by the laws of a general order of nature, founded on that order
itfelf. If he deviate from the rule of equity, his avenging faults themfelves
muft (how him the diforder, and induce him to return to reafon and juflice^ as
the laws of his exiftence and his happinefs.
6. As his nature is compofed of very different elements, this he feldom does
in the fhorteft way ; he vibrates between two extremes, till he accommo-
dates himfelf to his flate of exiftence, and reaches the temperate mean
in which he imagines his well being to confift. If he err in this, he muft
be fecretly confcious of it, and fufTer the confequences of his &ult.
Thefe, however, he fufiers but to a certain degree ; for either fate correfts them
by means of his own endeavours, or his being no longer finds an internal capa-
city of fubfiftence. Supreme wifdom could not impart more beneficial ufes to
phyfical pain and moral evil, for nothing fuperiour can be conceived.
7. Had one fmgle man alone trodden the Earth, the objeft of human exift-
ence would havi been accompli flied in him; as we muft confider it to be ac-
compliflied, in fo many individuals and nations, whom circumftances of time and
place feparated from the general chain of the fpecies. But as every thing, that
can live upon the Eartli, endures as long as it can remain in it's ftate of perma-
nency; fo the human fpecies, like every other kind of living beings, poflefles
fuch intrinfic tranfmiflive powers, as could find, and have found, proportion
and order fuitable to the whole. Thus reafon, the efTence of man, and it's or-
gan, tradition, have been inherited through a feries of fucceflive generations.
The Earth was gradually filled, and man became every thing, that, in fuch a
period and no other, he could become upon Earth.
8. Thus the propagation of families and traditions, connefted human
reafon: not as if it were in each individual no more than a fragment of
the whole, a whole exifting no where in one fubjeft, and therefore by no means
the end of the Creators but becaufe the dlfpofition and concatenation of the
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Chap. V.] PVifi Gtodnefs difpofes the Fate of Mankind. 465
whole fpccies led to this. As men are propagated, fo are animaU; yet no general
animal reafon arifcs from their generations : but as reafon alone gives perma-
nency to mankind, it muft be propagated, as the charafteriftic of the fpc-
cies ; for without it the fpecies would ccafc to be.
9. In the fpccies, as a whole, reafon has experienced the fame fate, as in it's
individual members ; for of individual members the whole confifb. It has
often been difturbed by the wild paflions of men, acting with ftill more violence
from conjunftion, turned out of it's way for centuries, and lain as if dormant
beneath it's aflies. To all thefe diforders Providence has applied no other
Femedy, than what (he adminifters to individuals; namely, that each fault
fliould be followed by it's correfpondent evil, and every aA of indolence, folly,
malice, raflinefs, and injuftice, be it's own punifliment. But as the (pccies ap-
pears in colleAive bodies in fuch circumfbmces, children muft fuffer for the
feults of their parents, the people for the folly of their rulers, and pofterity for
the indolence of their anceftors; and if they will not, or cannot, corrcÄ the evil,
they may fuffer under it for ages.
10. Thus the weal of the whole is the greateft good of each individual : for
k is the inherent right and duty of every one, who fuffers under it's evils, to
ward off thefe evils from himfelf, and diminifh them fer his fellows. Nature
has not calculated for fovereigns and ftates, but for the welfare of men. The
former fuffer not fo fpeedily for their vices and follies as individuals, becau(e
they always reckon only with the whole, in which the miferies of the poor
are long fuppreffed; but the ftate ultimately fuffers, and with fo much
more violent a concuffion. In all thefe things the laws of retaliation difplay
thcmfelves, as do the laws of motion on the (hock of the flighteft phyfical fub-
ftance; and the greateft fovereign of Europe is not lefs fubjeft to the natural
laws of the human fpecies, than the leaft of his people. This condition merely
binds him, io be an economift of thefe natural laws; and, by that power,
which he enjoys only through the means of other men, to be for other men a
wife and good terreftrial divinity.
1 1 . In general hiftory, too, as in the lives of carelefs individuals, all the follies
and vices of mankind areexhaufted; till at length they are compelled by
ncceflSty, to learn ^'reafon and juftice. Whatever can happen, happens ; and
produces, what from it's nature it can produce. This law of nature hinders
not even the moft eccentric power in it's operation s but it confines all by the
rule, that one oppo(ing effeft deftroys another, and what is ufeful alone ulti-
mately remains. The evil, that deftroys another, muft fubmit to order, or
dcftroy itfdf. The rational and virtuous arc uniformly happy in the king-
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466 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XV.
dom of God ; for virtue requires external reward, no more than rcafon covets
it. If their works are not accompanied by external fuccefs, not to them» but
to their zjgt will be the lofs : yet neither the difcord nor folly of man can for
ever counteraft them ; they will fucceed, when their time arrives.
12. Still human Reafon purfues her courfe in the fpccies in general : (he
invents, before flie can apply -, (he difcovcrs, though evil hands may long abu(e
lier difcoveries. Abufe will correö itfelf ^ and,.througIi^thc unwearied zeal of
ever-growing Reafon, diforder will in time become order. By contending
againft paflions, (he ftrer^thens and enlightens herdrif : from being opprefled
in this place, (he will fly to that, and extend the fpherc of her fway over the
Earth. There is nothing enthu(iaftical in the hope, that, wherever men dwell,
at fome future period will dwell men rational, juft, and happy : happy, not
through the means of their own reafon alone, but of the common reafon of their
whole fraternal race.
I bend before this lofty (ketch of the general wifdom of Nature with regard
to the whole of my fellow creatures the more willingly, as I perceive, that it is
Nature's univerfal plan. The law that fuftained the mundane fyftem, and
formed each cryftal, each worm, each flake of fnow, formed and fuftained alfo
the human fpecies : it made it*s own nature the bafis of it's continuance, and
progre(five aAion, as long as men (liall exift. All the works of God have their
ftability in themfelves, and in their beautiful confiftency : for they all repo(e,
within their determinate limits, on the equilibrium of contending powen, by
their intrin(ic energy, which reduces thefe to order. Guided by^his c^f w^_I
wander through the labyrinth of hiftoFy, and every where perceive divine har-
monious order : for what can any where occur, does occur ; what can operate,
operates. But reafon and juftice alone endure : madnefs and folly deftroy the
Earth and themfelves.
Thus when I hear a Brutus at Pliilippi, with the dagger in his hand, looking
up to the ftarry (ky, fay, according to the fabled ftory, * O Virtue, I believed
thee fomethingf but now I perceive, that thou art a dream 1* I cannot difcovcr
the calm philofopher in the latter part of the complaint. Hzd he pofiefled
true virtue, this, as well as his reafon, would ever have found it's own reward,
and muft have rewarded him even at that moment. But if his virtue were
mere roman patriotifm, is it to be wondered, that the weaker yielded to the
more ftrong, that the indolent funk before the more alert ? Thus the viftoiy
of Antony, with all it*s confequences, belonged to the order of thii^, and to
the natural fate of Rome.
In like manner when among us the virtuous man fo often complains, that
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Chap. V.] fVife Goodnefs difpofes the Fase of Mankind. 467
his labours mifcarry ; that brutal force and oppreffion prevail upon Earth ; and
that mankind feem to be given merely as a prey to the paffions, and to folly :
let the genius of his underftanding appear to him, and interrogate him friendly,
whether his virtue be of the right kind, and connefted with that intelligence,
that aftivity, which alone defcrve the name of virtue. Every labour, it muft
be confefled, does not fucceed on all occafions ; but do thy beft, that it may
fucceed, and promote it's time, it's place, and that internal liability, in which
real good alone fubfifts. Rude powers can be regulated only by reafon : but
they require an adtual counterpoife, that is prudence, zeal, and the whole force
of goodnefs, to reduce them to order, and maintain them in it with falutary
control.
It is a beautiful dream of future life, that we (hall there enjoy friendly in-
tercourfe with all the wife and good, who have ever a'dted for the benefit of
mankind, and gone to the regions above with the fwcet reward of accompliöied
labours : but hiftory in a certain degree unlocks to us this arbour of plcafing
converfation and intimacy with the intelligent and juft of all ages. Here
Plato fhands before me : there I liftcn to the friendly interrogations of Socrates,
and participate in his laft fate. When Marcus Antoninus confers in fccret
with his own heart, he confers alfo with mine ; and the poor EpiAetus ifTues
commands more powerful than thofc of a king. The afflidted Tully, the unfor-
tunate Boethius, confidentially difclofe to me the circumftances of their lives, their
forrows, and their confolations. How ample, yet how narrow, is the human
heart ! How individual, yet how recurrent, are all it*s pafSons and dcfires, it's
faults and foibles, it's hope and it's enjoyment ! The problem of humanity has
been folved a thoufand ways around me, yet every where the rcfult of man's
endeavours is the fame : ' the eflence, the objeA, and the fate of our fpecies,
reft on underftanding and juftice.* There is no nobler ufe of hiftory than
this : it unfolds to us as it were the counfelsof Fate, and teaches us, infignificant
as we are, to a£b according to God's eternal laws. By teaching us the faults
and confequences of every fpecies of irrationality, it afSgns us our fhort and
tranquil fcene on that great theatre, where Reafon and Goodnefs, contending in-
deed with wild powers, ftill, from their nature, create order, and hold on in the
path of vidory.
Hitherto we have been wandering through the obfcure field of ancient
nations: we now joyfully advance to approaching day, and view the harveft,
that the feed of antiquity has produced for fucceeding ages. Rome deflroyed
the balance of nations ; and under her a World bled to death : what new flate
will arife from this balance dcftroyed ? what new creature will faring froni the
aihq^of fo many nations ?
,v
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r 468 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF H I S T O R Y.
BOOK XVI.
AS wc now come to the ancient nations of the northern part of the World,
fome of whom were our anceftors, from whom we have derived our man-
ners and political conftitutions, I deem it unneceflary, to apologize for faying the
truth. For what would it avail, to write of the africans and afiatics with bold-
nefs, if we were obligpd to (upprefs our opinions concerning times and people,
that concern us much more nearly, than ?11 that has long been configned to
the dull beyond the Alps and the Taurus ? Hiftory demands truth -, and
to a phHofophy of hiftory the impartial love of truth at leaft is requifite.
Nature herfelf has feparated this region by a mound of rocks, known by the
names of Muftag, Altai, Kitzigt^, Ural, Caucafus, Taurus, Haemus, and
farther on the Carpathian mountains, the gigantic Alps, and the Pyrenees.
To the north of thefc, in fo different a foil and climate, the inhaHtants muft^
neceflarily aflume a form and mode of life altogether foreign to thofe of more
fouthern nations: forthere isnothingonthe whole Earth,by means of whichNature
has created fuch lafting differences, as mountains. Here (he fits on her* eternal
throne, fends forth her ftreams and meteors, and frequently diftributcs to nations'
oppofite propenfities and fortunes, as to climates oppofite qualities; If, there*
fore, we be told, that people beyond the mountains, who had dwelt for hun-
dreds or thoufands of years in the vaft faline and fandy plains of Tatary, or in
the woods and deferls of northern Europe, had introduced into the fineft
territories of the roman and grecian empires a vandal, gothic, fcythian, tatarian
way of life, various marks of which are ftill perceptible in Europe ; wc (hall
neither be furprifed at this, nor deceitftrlly afcribe to ourfelves a falfe appearance
of cultivation ; but, like Rinaldo, look into the mirror of truth, obferve
in it our form, and, if we ftill bear about us here and there the jingling
decorations of the barbarifm of our fathers, nobly exchange them for genuine
Ciiltivation and humanity, the only real ornaments of our fjpecies.
But before we enter the edifice, celebrated under the appellation of Mf cum-
menwealth of Europe^ that has become an objedt of aftonifhment or of dread by
it's effe A upon the whole Earth 3 let us endeavour to acquire fome knowIec%e
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Book XVI.] Jnaent Nations of Europe, 469
of the people, who have aftively or paffively contributed to theereftion of this
gigantic temple. The volume of our northern hiftory, it muft be avowed, is
fmall : with the moft celebrated nations it reaches no farther than to the ro-
mansi and as little as a man knows of the annals of his birth and infancy, as
little is known by thefe barbarous and unfettled nations. The remains of
the moft ancient are fcarcely to be met with, except among mountains, or in
nooks of land, in rude or impenetrable regions, where their ancient language,
and the retention of a few old cuftoms, barely indicate their origin: their con-
querors, in the mean time, have every where feized on the more extenfive and
fertile country; and if not expelled by others, poffefs them ftill by the right of
war, derived from their fathers, and govern them with greater equity, more of
kfs in the tatarian manner, or from gradual improvement in juftice and policy.
Farewel, you milder regions beyond the mountains, India and Ada, Greece and
the (hores of Italy ! if we vifit moft of you again, it will be in a different cha-
rader, it will be as northern conquerors.
CHAPTER I.
^ BafqueSy Gaely and Cimbri»
Of all the numerous tribes, that once inhabited the peninfula of Spain, there
are none, who have the leaft claim to antiquity remaining, the bafques except-
ed. Thefe, ftill dwelling about the Pyrenees in Spainand France, have retained
their ancient language, which is one of the oldeft in the World. It is proba-
ble, they once extended over the greateft part of Spain; if we may judge from
the names of many rivers and towns, which, notwirhftanding the changes they
have xindergone, arc obvioufly of bafque origin"*. From them is faid to be de-
rived the word ßlver^ the name of a metal, which, together with iron, has
cffefted moft of the revolutions, that have taken place in Europe, and in all the
irft of the World: for Spain is reported, to have been the firft country in Eu-
rope, where mines were worked, being very conveniently fituate for the pheni-
cians and Carthaginians, the eariieft mercantile nations in this part of the Globe,
to whom it was anciently a Peru.
• Stt Iwveßigiouenej hißoricat de lat Anli^ue-' Caiconies,* Par. 163S, bbok I : ^nd partrcu*
iuJei de NoFvarra^ ' Hiflorical Invcfllgation of larly Larramcndi's Dicchnario trilingne, de las
the Antiquities of Navarre/ by More t, Pam- Perfeecienes de el Ba/cuence, * Trilingual Diäio-
pclune, 1665» book I. Oihenarti Notitia utrluf- nary, of the Perfe£Uons of the Bafqup Lau«
fut Vafcma^ * Oihenart's Accoufii of the two guage,' Part U.
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470 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book X VI.
The people themfclves, who are well known under the appellation of vafconcs
and cantabri, have fhown tiiemfelves in ancient hiftory alert, aftive, valiant,
and lovers of freedom. They accompanied Jtlannibal into Italy, and their name
appears terrible in the roman poets. To them and the fpanifli celts it was
owing, that the romans found the fubjugation of Spain fo diificult : Auguftus
was the firft who triumphed over them, and this probably in appearance only,
for fuch as would not ferve the romans retired to the mountains. As the van-
dals, alan^, fuevi, goths, and other teutonic nations, purfued their roving courfe
through the Pyrenees, and fome of them founded kingdoms in their neighbour-
hood, they werQ (till the brave, reftlefs people, that had not loft their courage un-
der the yoke of the romans : and when Charlemagne returned through their
country from his viftory over the faracens in Spain^ they were ftill the (amc, their
artful attack occafioned the defeat at Roncevallos, fo famous in ancient romance,
where the great Roland was flain. They afterwards gave much trouble to the
franks in Spain and Aquitain, as they had before to the fuevi and goths ; they
were by no means idle in the recovery of the country out of the hands of the
faracens; and even in the moft barbarous ages of the deepeft monachal oppref-
fion they retained their charadter. When, after a long night, the dawn of fci-
cnce beamed on Europe, the lively poetry of the neighbouring provencab
diffufed it in fome degree over their land, which in later times has given many
a gay and enlightened genius to France. It is to be wiflied, that we knew
more of the language, manners, and hiftory, of thele lively and impetuous peo-
ple, and that, as Macpherfon has done among the Caledonians, afecond Lar-
ramendi would fearch after the remains of their ancient national gafcon fpirit.*
It is probable, that the. ftory of the celebrated battle of Roland, which, from
the monkifli epopee of archbifliop Turpui, gave birth to fo many romances and
heroic poems in the middle ages, has been ftill preferved among them : and
if not, their country was at leaft the Scaean gate, which for a loi^ time
filled the imaginations of the people of Europe with adventures, related there
to have taken place.
The gael, who, under the name of gauls and celts, were much better known
and more celebrated than the bafques, experienced in the end a fimilar fate. In
Spain they poifefTed an extenfive and fine country, in which they withftood the
arms of the romans with no fmall fame. In Gaul, which derived it's name from
* Larramendi, in the prolix efTay on the per- nothing of it, may be feen from Dieze's G^
feflion of the bafque language qaoccd in the chichit der Sfantyihem Di€htiMfi,'iütioty of Spi-
preceding note, could not think of fuch a nifli Poetry/ p. ixy, and following; and per«
thing, i J 8— 20. That in his Jrtt del Btifeu- haps all remembrance of it is loft.
tHCi, < Varietiei of the Bafque/ he mentioned,
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Chap. I.] Bafyuesy Gael^ and Cimlru 471
tfaem, they employed Caefar ten years ; and in Britain they maintained them-
fclves ftill longer againft his fucceffors, all whofe labours ultimately proved
vain, as they were forced at laft to abandon the ifland. Befide thefe, Helvetia,
the upper part of Italy, and the lower part of Germany along the Danube as far
as Ulyricum and Pannonia, were occupied by their dlffereiit tribes and colonies,
if not every where fully peopled by themj and in ancient times they were of all
enemies the moft dreaded by the romans. Their leader Brennus laid Rome in
afhes, and had nearly put an end to the future fovereign of the World. One
body of them penetrated into Thrace, Greece, and Afia Minor, where they
were more than once formidable under the name of galatians.
Their race was moft durably fixed, however, in Gaul and the britifli iflands,
where they certainly did not remain wholly uncivilized. Here they had their
memorable druidical religion, and in Britain their chief druids : here they had
eftabliftied that remarkable conftitution, of which monuments ftill exift, in
thofe heaps of ftones, part of them of vaft magnitude, that are to be feen in
Britain, Ireland, and the neighbouring iflands; monuments, that, like the pyra-
mids of Egypt, will yet remain probably for thoufands of years, and be for ever
perhaps inexplicable enigmas. They had a kind of political and military confti-
tution of their own, which was at length overturned by the romans, in confc-
quence of the difcords, that arofe between their chiefs : they were by no means
dcftitutcof phyfical knowledge, and fuch arts as appear fuitable to their condi-
tion ; and ftill Icfs were they in want of poetry and fong, the foul of barbarous
nations. Thefe, in the mouths of their bards, were particularly dedicated to
the chaunting of deeds of valour, and celebrating the achievements of their
fathers *. Oppofed to Caefar and his army, arrayed with all the military art of
the romans, it muft be confefled they appear as half favages : but compared
with other northern nations, and with feveral german tribes, they wear a diffe-
rent afpeft, evidently excelling them in quicknefs and addrefs, and in arts, civili-
zation, and political inftitutions: for as the charadler of the germans ftill
refcmbles in many leading features the pifture drawn by Tacitus, fo, in fpite of
all the changes induced by time, the ancient gaul is ftill difcernible in his mo-
* Befide what has been collected or imagined be termed critical beyond them all, Sprengel's
concerabg the celu by older writers, as Pelle- Hiilory of Great Britain (Continuation of the
tier, Pczron, Martin, picard, &c ; and what has Univcrfal Hiftory, Vol. XLVIl), the beginning
been (aid of the origin and inlHtations of the of which ucitly correäs a number of old erroars
ancient inhabitants of Britain by englifli, fcots, refpedling the gael and cimbri. The author
and irifli, as Barrington, Cordiner, Henry, gives, too, in his ufual manner, an account of
Jones, Macpherfon, Maitland, Lhwyd, Owen, the remaining monuments of the britons» con-
Shaw, Yallancey, Whitaker, and others ; we veying in few words information, to which th«
nay ventm to cite a german work, which may reader may trail with fafcty.
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472 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVI.
dem defcendants. But the numerous and widely fpread nations of this race
neceflarily dlffired much, according to place, time, circumftanccs, and their
various degrees of civilization, fo that the gael on the coafts of Ireland, or in
the highlands of Scotland, could have little in common with a gallic or cclti-
berian people, who had long enjoyed the neighbourhood of more culti\'ated
nations or towns.
The fate of the gacl in their extenfive region terminated lamentably. Ac-
cording to the eariieft accounts we have of them, they had on either Cvlc tl:e
Channel the belgas or cimbri on their borders, who appear to have prcffcd
upon them on all hands. On either fide this ftrait, too, they were ronquered,
firft by the romans, and afterwards by feveral teutonic nations 5 by whom wc
fee them frequently opprefled with great violence, enfeebled, or extirpated and
expelled ; fo that the gaelic language is now to be found only in the extreme
parts of their poflcffions, in Ireland, in the Hebrides, and on the bare high-
lands of Scotland. Goths, franks, burgundians, aleman^, faxons, normans,
and other german nations, vr.rioufly intermixed, have taken poffeffion of their
lands, eradicated their language, and extirpated their name.
Oppreffion, however, fucceeded not wholly to efface from the Earth every
living monument of the intrinfic charaöer of this people: foft as the tone of
the harp broke from the grave a tender, mournful voice, the voice of Oflian, the
fon of Fingal, and fome of his contemporaries. It not only places before our
eyes, as in a magic glafs, reprefentations of ancient deeds and manners ; but the
general fentiments and mode of thinking of a people at fuch a point of culti-
vation, in fuch a countr}^ and with fuch manners, vibrate through our hearts
and minds. Oflian and his contemporaries convey to us more information re-
Ipefting the interiour ftate of the ancient gael, than a hiftonan could give, and
are at the fame time affcdling preachers of humanity, as it exifts even in the
moft fimplc forms of fociety. There tender firings are ftretched from heart to
heart, and every chord emits a plaintive note. What Homer was to the greeks,
a gaelic Oflian might have been to his countrymen, had the gael been greeks,
and had Offian been a Homer. But as Offian's fong refounded only the dy-
ing words of an opprcfled people, amid the mifty mountains of a defert, illumin-
ing as with a hallowed flame the graves of his fathers; while Homer, born in
Ionia, in the bofom of a rifing nation, confiding of many flourifhing ftates
and iflands, in the radiance of the morning-bcam, depifted under a far dif-
ferent iky, and in a very different langu^e, what he beheld before him clear,
open, and diftinft, and what other men of genius afterwards applied in fuch va-
rious ways : he, who fecks a grecian Homer in the mountains of Caledonia,
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Chap. I.] Ba/ques, Gaely and Cimbru 473
unqucftionably feeks one in a wrong place. Sound ftUl, however, thou mift-
enveloped harp of Oflians happy in all ages he, who liftens to thy gentle
notes *.
The name of the cimbri denotes them, to be inhabitants of the mountains ;
and if they were the fame with the belgians, wc find them along the weftern
bank of the Rhine from the Alps to it's mouth, nay once perhaps to the Cim-
brian cherfonefe, which, it is probable, was originally a much more extenfive
land. By german tribes, fettling clofe upon them, they were driven in bodies
acrofs the fea; fo that they ftraitencd the gael in Britain, and foon acquired
poffeffion of it's eaft and fouthern coafts : and as the tribes on both fides the
water preferved their connexion, and were more expert in many arts than the
gael, there was nothing, which, from their fituation, they could purfue with
greater fuccefe than piracy. They appear to have been more favage than the
gael, and improved little in manners under the romans ^ and when thefe left
their ifland, they funk into fuch barbarifm and depravity, that they were ob-
liged to call in to their affiftance at one time the romans, at another, to their
own coft, the faxons. From thefe german auxiliaries they fuifered much.
They came over in hordes, and foon ravaged the country with fire and fword :
neither men, nor inftitutions, were fpared by them : the land was made a de-
fert ; and at length we find fuch of tlie poor cimbri, as were not extirpated»
pent up in the weftern corner of Britain, in the mountains of Wales and Corn-
wall, or forced to take refuge in Brittany.
Nothbg can equal the hatred, which the cimbri conceived for their treache-
rous affiftants, the laxons, and which they cheriflied with great warmth for
centuries, after they were confined to their naked mountains. Here they long
nuuntained their independance, language, form of government, and manners,
of which we liave ftill a remarkable defcription in the regulations of the courts
of their kings and their officers + ; but at length their end arrived. Wales
was conquered, and united with England : the language of the cimbri alone
* Ifc Teems fingalar, that, while two nations» poetry, of the gael, than their ArlHoLle, Blair,
the fcots and irifli, contend for the honour of Such a gaelic anthology would not only be a
^v^ng given birth to Oflian and to Fingal, claffic work for the native admirers of thefe
neither has yet juftified it's claim» by poblifiiing poems, by means of which what the language
the beautiful fongs of Offian, nvitb tbiir originai has to boall of as moft beautiful would be long
melodits, which are faid to be ftill in ofe. Thefe preferved ; but even foreigners would find in it
could not eafily be forged ; and t\Ltflru3ure of much» that would be highly acceptable, and
tbi poems in the triginal languagi, with a glof- fuch a book would ever remain of great im«
fary» and fuitable notes» would not ferve mere- portance to the bißory of man.
ly as a jollification, but would give os more in- f Sprengel's Gi/cbicbtt »von Gro/sbntamUem,
forinatioB refptöiag the language, mufic, and < Hiftory of Great Briuin»' p. %7f-9%*
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474 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVL
was preferved, as it is to this day, both in Wales and in Brittany. It is ftill
prefcrved, but in remains that poffefs little fecurity : and it would be well, if
it's charafteriftics were configned to books * j for, like the languages of all na-
tions thus expelled by others, k will infallibly be annihilated, and this firft of
all probably in Brittany. The charadkers of nations are gradually extingui(hed
in the natural courfe of things : their lineaments wear out, and they are caft bto
the cruciblfr of Time, where they fubfide into a dead mais> or arc rendered
pure for the reception of a frefli impreflion.
The moft memorable, of what has been handed down to us of the cimbri,
is the account of their king Arthur, and his knights of the round table, which
has had wonderful cffedt on the imaginations of men. It was naturally late,
before the tales of thefe appeared in books, and they did not receive their ro-
mantic garb, till after the time of the croifades -, but they belonged originally
to the cimbri, for Arthur reigned in Cornwall, where, and in Wales, a hundred
places ftill retain his name in popular ftory. Animated by the romantic in-
vention of the normans, it is probable, the tale received it's firft embellifh*-
ments in Brittany, which was peopled by a colony of the cimbri j whence it fpread
with numerous additions over England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and
was afterwards adopted by the poets of more refined ages. Fables from the
eaft were engrafted into it ; legends were called in, to give it their fandlion ;
and thus arofe the beautiful feries of knights, giants, fairies, dragons, and ad-
ventures, with the enchanter Merlin, likewife a welchman, for centuries the de-
light of knights and ladies. It would be vain to inquire precii'ely when king
Arthur lived : but to trace the foundation, the hiftory, and the effedts, of thefe
tales and fi&ions, through all the nations and ages in which they flourifhed»
and place them in their proper light as hiftorical phenomena, would be an ad-
venture of no fmall fame, equally pleafmg and inftrudtive, and to which the
way has already been cleared -f .
* In Borlafe, Bullet, Lloyd» Roftrenen» le
Brigant» the tranflation of the Bible, Sec The
poetic tales of king Arthur and his knights,
however, have been little examined in their
original form.
f T. Warton's eflay on the origin of roman-
ÜC fiäion in Europe, prefixed to his Hiftory of
Engliih Poetry, and tranflated in Efchenburg's
Brittijcb, Mu/tum, Vol. Ill, V, has fome uTefui
materials ; but a» he evidently adopts a mifiaken
fyftem, the whole mull aiTume a dilFerent form.
In Percel's and the more modem Bihlhtbi^ut its
Romans, * Bibliotheca of Romances,' in the
remarks of different engliihmen on Chancer.
Spenfer, Shakfpeare, &c., in their archasologiae,
in the remarks of Du Frefne and others on fevecai
ancient hiftorians, fufficient data and materiab
might be found. A fliort hiftory by Sprengel
would reduce this chaos to order, and anqoci^
tionaUy exhibit it ia an inftni^ve light.
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[ 475 ]
C H A P T B R II.
FbtSy LettonianSf and Prtißans,
The race of fins, to whom, however, this name is as little known as that of
laps to a branch of them, for they call themfelves ßwmu extends, even in the
prefent day, along the northern extremity of Europe, the (hores of the
Baltic, and into Afia. In early times, it certainly fpread ftill farther, and
more to the fouth. In Europe, befide the fins and laps, the ingrians, efthonians,
and livonians, belong to this race; and farther on the fyrans, permians, woguls,
wotiacs, cheremifles, morduans, condian oftiacs, and others, are related to it ;
and the hungarians, or magyars, appear to be from the fame flem, on com-
paring their language with that of the fins*.
It is not clear how far down in Norway and Sweden the laps and fins once
dwelt ; but this is certain, that the fcandinavian germans were continually preiling
them farther towards the northern frontier, which they ftill inhabit. They
appear to have poffefled moft aftivity on the coafts of the White Sea and the
Baltic, where they followed piracy, and carried on a little trade. In Pcrmia,
or Biarmaland, their idol Jumala had a barbaroufly fplendid temple. Hither,
likewife, the northern german adventurers principally came, to barter, to
plunder, and to demand tribute. Tliefe people, however, nowhere attained
any mature or fubftantial civilization, for which their unfavourable fituation»
not their capacity, muft be blamed. They were not warriors, like the germans;
for, after fo many ages of oppreflion, all the popular tales and fongs of the laps,
fins, and efthonians, prove them to be a gentle people. Befides, as their tribes
Kved for the moft part without coimexion, and many of them without any
political conftitution, what aftually happened, when they were prefled upon
by other nations, was naturally to have been expefted ; namely, that the laps
fliould be driven toward the north pole; the fins, ingrians, efthonians, &c.,
reduced under the yoke of flavery j and the livonians, nearly extirpated. The
• Sec Buettner's FergUicbungS'tabilltn der tion of the Univerfal Hiftory, contains a raloa-
Scbriftarten, * Comparative Tables of Modes of ble coUedtion of inquiries, by the author and
Writing ;' Gattercr's Einkiiung zur Um^ver/a/" others, concerning the defcent and ancient hif-
hifloriB, • Introduftion to Univerial Hiftory ;' tory of the northern nations, which excites a
ScliloBtzer's aligemetne Nerdi/che Ge/chich/e, * Ge- wilh for more fuch compilations of the laboturt
neral Hiftory of the North ;' &c. The book of an Ihre, Suhm, Lagerbring, &c.
laft ^uoted^ being the 5 ill vol. of the Continua-
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476 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooxSm.
fate of the nations on the Baltic fills a melancholy page in the hiftory of
mankind.
The only people of this race, that forced themfelves into the rank of con-
querors, are the hungarians or magyars. It is probable they firft fcated them-
felves in the land of the baflikirians, between the Wolga and the Yaik : they
then founded a hungarian kingdom between the Wolga and the Black Sea,
which fplit into pieces. They next came under the chazars, and were fepa-
rated by the petlhen^rins, founding on the one hand the magyar kingdom
on the frontiers of Perfia, on the other entering into Europe in feven hordes,
and carrying on furious wars with the bulgarians. Being impelled &rther
onwards by thefe, the emperor Arnulph called in their affiftance againfl: the
moravians. From Pannonia they now invaded Moravia, Bavaria» and Upper
Italy, which they cruelly ravaged : they carried fire and fword into Thuringia,
Saxony, Franconia, Hefle, Swabia, Alfatia, and even France» and afterwards
Italy; and impofed a difgraceful tribute on the german emperors : till at length
they were fo reduced, partly by the plague, partly by terrible defeats of their ar-
mies in Saxony, Swabia, and Weftphalia, that the german empire was rendered
iecure from their attacks, and mdeed Hungary itfelf annexed to the s^y^ftolical
dominions. At prefeni, intermingled with fclavonians, germans, wallachians, and
others, they conftitute the fmaller number of the inhabitants, and in a few cen-
turies perhaps their language will be nearly extin&.
The lithuanians, courlanders, and lettonians, on the Baltic, are of uncertain
ori^n : according to all probability, however, they were impelled onward, till the
fea ftopped their progrefs. Notwithftanding the mixture of their language with
others» it (till retains a peculiar charaäer, and is probably the daughter of an
ancient parent» originally of fome diftant region. Surrounded by german,
fclavonian, and finnifli nations, the peaceable lettonian race could nowhere
extend, ftiU lefs improve, and at length, like it's neighbours the pruflians, was
mod remarkable for the violences, which all the inhabitants of thefe coafts
experienced, partly fi-om the new-converted poles, partly from the teutonic
knights, and thofe whom they called in to their affiftance *. Humanity (hud-
• A ihort hiftory of the praiBans, from the to a multitodc. The ancient pmflian confiitn«
ofeftil colledkion» and preparatory labours of tion on the banks of the Viftula, which namei
Hartknoch» Praetorias» Lilienthal, and others, Widewut as it's fbander, and a chief droid,
b defirable, and perhaps has already appeared Kriwe, with the whole race of the people, par*
unknown to me. This little comer of the Earth ticularly deferves inveftigation. In the hiftory
has done much, without any encouragement, for of Livonia» Arndt, Uopel» and ochert» deierrft
the hiftory of it's own and the neighbouring oar praife*
juuions : the name of Bayer alone is equivalent
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Chap, nj -FSw, LettmianSi and Prußans. 477
ders at the blood, that was here (pilled in long and fa vage wars» till the ancient
prufllans were nearly extirpated, and the courlanders and lettonians reduced to
a ftate of flavery, under the yoke of which they ftill languilh. Centuries
perhaps will pafs, before it is removed, and thefe peaceful people are recom*
penfed for the barbarities, with which they were deprived of land and liberty,
by being humanely formed anew to the ufe and enjoyment of an improved
freedom.
Our eyes have now been long enough fixed on opprefled, extirpated, or
(iil^ugated people ^ let us turn them on thole, by whom they were opprefled
and fubdued.
CHAPTER III.
German Nations,
We now come to the people, who, by their fize and ftrength of body ; their
eftterprizing, bold, and perfevering fpirit in war; their heroic propenfity to mili»
täry fervice, to follow in a body their leaders, wherever they chofe to conduft
them, and to divide the lands they fubdued as their booty ; with their exten-
five conquefts, and the general diffufion of the german political conftitution
around ; contributed more than any other race to the weal and woe of this
quarter of the Globe/ From the Öiorcs of the Black Sea the arms of the ger-
iftans were terrible throughout Europe : one gothic empire extended formerly
from the Wolga to the Baltic : in Thrace, Moeßa, Pannonia, Italy, Gaul, Spain,
and even Africa, different german nations, at different periods, fettled, and
founded kingdoms : by them the romans, faracens, gael, cimbri, laps, fins,
efthonians, fclavonians, courlanders, pruflians, and even one another, were
driven from their pofleffions ; by them all the modern kingdoms of Europe
were founded, their diftinftions of rank were introduced, and the elements of
their jurifprudcnce were inculcated. More than once they attacked, took, and
plundered Rome : feveral times they befieged Conftantinople, and even made
themielves mailers of it : at Jerufalem they founded a chriftian monarchy : and
in the prefent day, partly by the princes whom they have feated on every
throne in Europe, and partly by the kingdoms themfelves they have founded,
they exercife more or lefs dominion, either as pofleflbrs, or by their manufac-
tures and trade, over all the four quarters of the Globe. But fince no effeft
is without a cauie, there muft have been fome caufe for this vaft feries of
cffcds.
I. This
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47« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVL
1 . This caufe lies not in the chara^er of the nation alone : ii^s fhyßcal and political
fituationy and a number of circumfianceSy which eombined in no other northern nation^ co*
operated in the courfe of their achievements. Their large, ftrong,ancl well proportioned
bodies, with their ftern blue eyes, were animated by a fpirit of fidelity and
temperance, which rendered them obedient to their fuperiours, bold in attack»
unappalled by peril, and to other nations, the degenerate romans included,
pleafing as friends, terrible as foes. Germans ferved in the roman armies at
an early period, and they were particularly preferred as bodyguards by the
emperors : nay, when the threatened empire was unable to proteä it(elf, german
armies fought for pay againft it's enemies, even againft their own bretfarea.
In this fer\ice, which continued for fomc centuries, feveral of their nations
acquired a degree of military difcipline and fcience, to which other barbarians
neceflarily remained ftrangers i at the fame time the example of the romans,
and an acquaintance with their feeblenefs, gradually infpired them with a defire
of national expeditions, and of conquering for themfelves. If this d^nerate
Rome had once fubdued nations, and raifed itfelf to the fovereigntyof the World,
why (hould the fame be done by them, without whofe arms the romans were
incapable of exerting any force ? Accordingly, if we pafs over the more ancient
jncurfions of the teutones and cimbri, and begin with the enteiprizing chiefs
Arioviftus, Marbutus, and Hermann, the firft (hocks were given to the terri-
tories of the romans by borderers, or by leaders who were acquainted with their
art of war, and had been often employed in their armies, fo as to be fufficiently
acquainted with the weaknefs of Rome, and fubfequently of Conftantinople.
Some of them were even auxiliaries of the romans, at the time when they
thought fit, to appropriate to themfelves the countries they had recovered.
As the propinquity of ä rich and feeble ftate to one that is ftrong and needy,
the aid of which is indifpenfable to it, neceflarily leads to the fuperiority and
rule of the latter ; the romans themfelves here put the fword into the hands of
the germans, who were eftabliöicd direclly oppofite to them in the centre of
Europe, and whom they foon admitted from neccflity into their ftate or their
armies.
2. The long reßßance^ which feveral nations of our Germany had to make cgainfi
the romans^ necejjarily ßrengthened their powers^ and their hatred to an hereditary
enemy y who hoaßed ritore of triumphing over them^ than over any other people. The
romans were terrible to the germans both on the Rhine and on the Danube ;
willingly as thcfe had aflifted the arms of Rome againft the gauls and others,
they were by no means inclmed to fervc under them as their own conquerors.
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Cha>. III.j German Nations. ^ 479
Hence the long wars from the time of Auguftus, which, the feebler the
roman empire grew, degenerated the more into plundering incurfions, and
could not end but with it's ruin. The marcoman and fuabian league, which
fcveral nations concluded againft the romans ; the hcerbann^ eftablilhed in all
the german tribes, even the mod diilant, by which every man was obliged to
arm in defence of his country, to be a foldier j with other inftitutions j gave
the whole nation both the name and conftitution of germans^ or alemanns, that
is, united warriours : rude prototype of a fyftem, which centuriear aftei was
to extend to all the nations of Europe *.
3. JVith fuch a permanent military conßitution^ the germam muß mceßirily be
deficient in many other virtues y which they not unwillingly fa crificed to their leading
inclination^ or principal neceßty^ war. Agriculture they purfucd with no great
diligence ; and in many tribes a yearly divifion of their lands precluded that
pleafure, which individuals take in poffeflions of their own, and in improving
the cultivation of their own fields. Some tribes, particularly the eaftern, long
remained tatarian hunters and herdfmen. The rude idea of common paftures,
and a general poffeffion of property, was the favourite notion of thefe nomades,
which they carried with them even into the countries and kingdoms they con-
quered. In confequence Germany long remained a foreft, interfperfcd with
paftures, marlhes, and moraffes, where the urus and the elk, the now extir-
pated animals of the heroic ages of Germany, dwelled with the ancient german
heroes. Of fcience they were . ignorant j and the few arts, with which they
could not difpenfe, were carried on by the women, and flaves for the moft
part ftolen. To fuch people it muft have been a pleafure, to quit their defert
forefts, in queft of finer countries, or to fe'rve as mercenaries, whenever prompted
by revenge, want, the wearifomenefs of inadVion, fociety, or any other call.
Hence many tribes were in a ftate of perpetual turmoil, with and againft one
another, either as enemies, or as allies. No people have fo often fhifted their
quarters as thefe, if we except among them a few tribes of more peaceable fet-
tiers : and when one tribe moved, it commonly attrafted more on it's way, fo that
the troop grew to an army. Many german nations, vandals, fuevi, and others,
• It would be ufelefs here to give a full deli- a dcfcription of them, conneäed with his fub-
mation of all the political conftitutions of the jo^» which, a& a beauiiful whole, appears almo(t
germans, varying at diiferent times, among dif- an ideal fydem, and yet (eems to have great truth
ferent people, and in different countries : fuch in particular parts. See Moefer's O/nabrueck-
as propagated themfelves in the hiilory of na- i/cbe Ge/cbicbte, 'Hiftory of Ofnabrug,' Vol. I,
tions will appear in due time. After the nu- and ^his Ptf//-fe/^i^^/'i&i2ff/^M, * Patriotic Re ve«
merous illaftratioos of Tacitus^ Mg^fcr has given lies/ in ?arious places.
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48o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boar XVL
derive their names firotn roaming about, wandering • : thus it was by land, thus
by fea : a life fufficiently in the tatarian mode.
In the mofl- ancient hiftory of the germans, therefore, it is ncccflary to guard
ourfelves againft any partial attachment to a &vourite fpot for our modem coin
ftitution : with this the ancient germans had no concern ; they followed the
courfc of a different ftream of nations. Weftward they preffed on the belgians
and gael, till they had fcated themfelves in the midft of other tribes : they
paffed eaftward as far as the Baltic ; and when this put a flop to their progreis
and their plunder, as it's fandy coafts were unable to fupport them, they natu-
rally turned fouthward, the firft opportunity, into countries that had been eva-
cuated. Hence many of the nations, that invaded the roman empire, had
previoufly dwelt on the fhores of the Baltic : but thefe were only the moce
barbarous, whofe refidence there was by no means the occafion of the (hock,
that was given to the power of Rome. This we muft; feek at a greater dif-
tance, in the aßatic country ofMungalia : for there the weftem huns were prefled
upon by the igurians and other nations j in confequencc they croffcd the Wolga^,
fell upon the alans on the Don, and the great kingdom of the goths on the
Black Sea, and thus many fouthern german nations, the oftrogoths and vifi-
goths, vandals, alans, and fuevi, were fet in motion, and the huns followed
them. With the faxons, franks, and burgundians, the cafe was different i as
it was with the heruli, who long ferved in the roman armies, as heroes that fold
their blood for pay.
We muft likewife take care, not to afcribe fimilar manners, or a like degree
of civilization, to all thefe people, as appears from the difference of their con-
dudt towards the nations they conquered. The favage {axons in Britidn, the
roaming alans and fuevi in Spain, condufted themfelves not as the oftrogoths in
Italy, or the burgundians in Gaul. The tribes that had long dwelt on the
roman frontiers, near their colonies and places of trade, in the weft or fouth,
were more mild and poliflied, than thofe who came from the barren feacoaft?,
or from the forefts of the north : hence it would be arrogance, if every horde of
germans were to afcribe to itfelf, for inftance, the mythology of the fcandinavian
goths. How far did not thefe goths advance ? and in how many ways was
not this mythology afterwards refined ? The brave primitive german, perhaps,
can claim nothing but his neut or Tuißoy Manriy Hertha^ and Wodan^ that is, a
father, a hero, the earth, and a general.
Yet we may at leaft fraternally enjoy that remote treafure of german mytho«
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Cha?. III.] German Nations. 4^1
logy, which was prerefved, or collefted, at the end of the habitable World, in
Iceland, and obvioufly enriched by the l^nds of the normans and learned
chriftians j I mean, the northern Edda. As a coUeftion of records of the
language and fentiments of a german tribe, it highly defervcs our attention.
A comparifon of this northern mythology with that of the greeks may be
ufelefs, or inftrudive, according to the manner in which the examination is
conduced ; but it would be vain, to cxpeft a Homer or an Offian among thefe
fcaJds ♦. Does the E^rth produce every where the fame fruits ? and are not the
noblcft produftions of this kind the confequences of an extraordinary condition
of the people, and of the times, which had long been ripening ? In thefe poems
and tales, therefore, let us prize what we find, a peculiar fpirit of rude, bold
poetry, ftrong, pure, and juft feelings, with too artificial an employment of the
rudiments of our language j and thank each preferving, each communicating
band, that has contributed to the general or better ufe of this national trea-
furc. Among thofe, who in ancient or modem times have meritorioufly con-
tributed to this -f , I muft mention, in our own days, with refpeft and gratitude
the name of Suhm, to whom the hiftory of mankind is much indebted. He
has caufed this beautiful northern light, to fliine over us from Iceland with new
iplendour : he and others have endeavoured, to introduce it into the iphere of
our knowledge, and pomt out it's true ufe. It is to be regretted, that we ger*
mans have little of the ancient treafures of our language to difplay X : the poems
of our bards are loft ; the venerable oak of our heroic language exhibits few
bloflbms, that are not of very modern date.
When the german nations had embraced chriftianity, they fought for it, as
for their kings and nobility ; and this genuine loyalty of the fword was amply
experienced by the alemanns, thuringians, bavarians, and faxons, by the poor
flavians, pruiSans, couHanders, livonians,and efthonians, as well as by their own
tribes* To their fame likewife it muft be faid, that they ftood as a living wall
againft the irruptions of later barbarians, and repelled the mad rage of huns,
hungarians, mungals, and turks. By them, too, the greater part of Europe was
not only conquered, planted, and modelled, but covered and protefted ; other-
wife it oould never have produced what has appeared in it. Their rank among
* The eall teemsj and fcatters myriads 0/ f Ssemand» Snorro, Refenias» Worm, Tor-
images ; the north concentrates and expands a fieus, Stephanius, Bartholin» KciHer« Ihit» Gm*
fcanty brood. Offian and the Edda are nearer ranfon, Thorlcelin, £richien, the Magnefes»
to each other than either is to Homer: but the Ancherfen, Eggers» ftc.
fkzld, who conceived the < Defcent of Odin | All our riches, except a very little fcattered
and Thor*8 conflift with the ferpent of Mid. op and down in different places, are colleded in
gard» deferves a coloilal nich in the temple of Schilter's Thtfamrut, and they are far from con-
poetry. F. fiderable.
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482 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XVL
other nations, their military \eagaty and their native charafter, have been the
foundation of the civilization, freedom, and fecurity of Europe : whether their
political fituation were not a joint caufe of the flow progrefs of this civilization,
hiftory, an impartial evidence, will prove.
CHAPTER IV.
Slavsan Nations,
The figure made by the flavian nations in hiftory is for from proportionate to
the extent of country they occupied; one reafon of which, among others, is,
that they dwelt fo remote from the romans. We firft difcern them on the
Don, among the goths ; afterwards, on the Danube, amid the huns and bulga«
rians; with whom they frequently difturbed the roman empire, thou^ chieflf
as aiTociates, auxiliaries, or vaflals. Notwithftanding their occafional achieve-
ments, they were never cnterprizing warriours or adventurers, like the germans:
thefe they for the moft part followed quietly, occupying the places they evacu-
ated, till at length they were in pofTefHon of the vaft territory extending from
the Don to the Elbe, and from the Adriatic Sea to the Baltic. On this fide the
Carpathian mountains their fettlements extended from Lunenburg over Meck-
lenburg, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony, Lufatia, Bohemia, Moravia, Sile-
fia, Poland, and Ruffia : beyond them, where at an early period they had fettled
inWallachiaand Moldavia, they were continually fpreading farther and fiuther,
aflifted by various circumftances, till the emperor Heraclius admitted them into
Dalmatia, and the kingdoms of Sclavonia, Bofnia, Servia, and Dalmatia, were
founded by them. In Pannonia they were equally numerous j they polTeffedall
the foutheaftern angle of Germany from Friuli, fo that their domains termi-
nated with Stiria, Carinthia, and Carniola : an immenfe region, the european
part of which is even now inhabited chiefly by one nation.
Every where they fettled on lands, that others had relinquiflied, cultivating
or enjoying them as colonifts, huft)andmen, or Qiepherds : fo that their noife*
lefs induftry was of infinite advantage to countries, from which other nations had
migrated,or which they had pafled over and plundered. They were fond of
agriculture, ftores of corn and cattle, and various domeftic arts; and every
where opened a beneficial trade with the produce of their land and their induf-
try. Along the Baltic, from Lubec, they built feaport towns, among which
Vineta, in the ifland of Rügen, was the Amfterdam of the flavians : thus they
maintained an intercourfe with the pruilians, courlanders, and lettonians, as the
language of thefe people fliows. On the Dnieper they built Kiow; on the
Wolcoff, Novogorod; which foon became flourilhing commercial towns,
uniting the Black Sea with the Baltic, and conveying the produftions of Afu
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Chap. IV.] Slavian Nations, 483
to the north and weft of Europe. In Germany they followed the working of
mines, underftood the fmelting and cafling of metals, manufaftured (alt, fabri-
cated linen, brewed mead, planted fruit trees, and led, after thcirfa(hion,agay
and mufical life. They were liberal, hofpitable to excefs, lovers of paftoral free-
dom, but fubmiffive and obedient, enemies to fpoil and rapine. All this pre-
fer\-ed them not from oppreffion: nay it contributed to their being opprefled.
For, as they were never ambitious of fovereigtity, had among them no hereditary
princes addidted to war, and thought little of paying tribute, fo they could but
enjoy their lands in peace; many nations, chiefly of german origin, injurioufly
oppreffed them.
Already under Charlemagne were carried on thofe oppreflive wars, the objedt
of which was evidently commercial advantages, tliough the chriftian religion
was their pretext : as it was unqueftionably very commodious for the heroic
franks, to treat an induftrious nation, addidled to trade and agriculture, as vat
üds, inftead of learning and purfuing thefe arts themfclves. Wliat the franks
began, the faxons completed : in whole provinces the flavians were extirpated,
or made bondfmen, and their lands divided among bifhops and nobles. Nor-
thern germans ruined their commerce on the Baltic ; the danes brought their
Vineta to a melancholy end; and their remains in Germany were reduced to
that ftate, to which the peruvians were fubjefted by the fpaniards. Is it to be
wondered, that, after this nation had bom the yoke for centuries, and cherilhed
the bittercft animofity againft their chriftian lords and robbers, it's gentle cha-
rafter (hould have funk into the artful, cruel indolence of a flave? Yet ftill,
particularly in lands where they enjoy any degree of freedom, their ancient
ftamp is univerfally perceptible. It was unfortunate for thefe people, that their
love of quiet and domeftic induftry was incompatible with any permanent mili-
tary eftablifhment, though they were not defedive in valour in the heat of refift-
ance: unfortunate, that their fituation brought them fo near to the germans
on the one fide, and on the other left them expofed to the attacks of the tatars
from the eaft, from whom, particularly from the mungals, they had much to
fuffer, and much they patiently bore.
The wheel of changing Time, however, revolves without ceafing ; and as thefe
nations inhabit for the moft part the fineft country of Europe, if it were com-
pletely cultivated, and it's trade opened; while it cannot be fuppofed, but that
legiflationand politics, inftead of a military fpirit, muft and will more and more
promote quiet induftry, and peaceful commerce between different ftates; thefe
now deeply funk, but once induftrious and happy people, will at length awake
from their long and heavy flumber, (hake off the chains of flavery, enjoy the pof-
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484 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVL
fcffion of their dclightfiil lands from the Adriatic fea to the Carpathian moun*
tains, from the Don to the Muldaw, and celebrate on them their ancient
fcftivals of peaceful trade and induftry.
As we have elegant and ufeful materials for the hiftory of thefe people» from
different regions *y it is to be wiihed, that their deficiencies were fupplied from
others; the continually decaying remains of their cuftoms» fbngs, and tiaditians,
colleftedi and fuch a general hiftory of this race ultimately completed, as the
pifturc of mankind requires.
CHAPTER V.
Foreign Nations in Europe^
A L L the nations» that we have hitherto noticed,the hungarians alone excepted,
may be confidcred as ancient aborigines of Europe, who have redded in it
from time immemorial. For though they may have dwelt in Afia, as the ^nity
of feveral languages leads us to conjeäure» to inquire into thb, and the way
they took from Noah's ark, would carry us beyond the limits of our hiftory.
But befide thefe we find feveral foreign nations, that have formerly appeared on
the flage of Europe, to it's advantage or detriment, or ftill appear on it.
Such were the huns, who, under Attila, traverfed, conquered, and ravaged
a great extent of country ; a people, according to all probability, and the
defcription given by Ammian, of mungal origin. Had the great Attila, inftead
of fuffering himfelf to be prevailed on by entreaty, to withdraw from Rome,
made the metropolis of the World the feat of his empire; what afearfril chai^
would it have occafioned in the whole hiftory of Europe! But happily his de-
feated people retired to their mountains, and left behind them no ctdmtchotß
roman empire.
After the huns, the bulgarians once adted a tremendous part in the eaft of
Europe, till, like the hungarians, they were fubdued to the reception of chriftia-
nity, and at length fwallowed up in the language of the flavians. The new king-
dom, likewife, which they founded with the wallachians from mount Hxmus,
fell to pieces : they were melted down in the great mixed mafs of nations of the
daci-illyrico-thracian region j and now only a fingle province of the turkiOi em-
pire bears their name, without any diftinguilhing marks of national charafter.
We (hall pafs over many others, chazars, avars, pctftienegrins, &c., who gave
much trouble to the eaftern roman empire, as wdl as in part to the weftern, the
• See FriTch* Popowitfeh, Mueller, Jordan, Tattbe, Fords, Sulzer, Roffigaoli, Dobrov&it
Scritter, Gerkeo, Moehfen, Anton, Dobner, Voigt, Pelzel, tec.
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Crap. V.} Foreign Nations in Europe. 485
gothS) the ilavianSy and other nations; but at length, without any lafting eftab*
liihment of their name, either returned to Afia, or were loft by mixing in the
general mafs.
Stilließ need we concern ourfelves with thofe remains of the ancient illyrians,
thraciansy and macedonians» the albanians, wallachians, and arnauts. Thefe
were not ftrangers, but of an ancient european race : once they were leading na-
tions, now they are a confufed jumble of the rcnuuns of various people and
languages.
Thofe fecond huns, too, that ravaged Europe under Gengis-'khan and his
fiicceflbrs, arc altogether foreign to our purpofe. The firft conqueror preffed
forwards as fiir as the Dnieper without flopping; then fuddenly chang^ his in-
tentions, and returned. His fucceflbr advanced even into Germany with fire
and fword, but was driven back. The grandfon of Gcngis-khan fubjugated
Ruffia, which remained tributary to the mungab for a century and half: but
at length it threw off the yoke, and maftered thefe people in it's turn. More than
once thefe ravenous wolves of the afiatic heights, the mm^als, have ravaged the
World; but they never accomplilhed the transformation of Europe into their
dcferts. This indeed they never fought: plunder was their only objedb.
We have therefore to fpeak only of thofe people, who have rcfided in our
quarter of the Globe a more or lefs confiderable fpace of time, pofleiBng tern*
tories in it, and dwelling among the other nations. Thefe are
X. The arabs. As the eaftern empire received it's firft grand fliock in three
quarters of the Globe from thefe people; and as they pofleffed Spain in part for
feven hundred and feventy years, befide ruling wholly, or partly, in Sicily, Sar-
dinia, Corfica, and Naples, moft of which were taken from them piecemeal; they
every where left traces behind them, in language and fentiments, difpofitions
and inftitutions, which are in part not yet obliterated, in part have confiderably
influenced the genius of their former neighbours, and thofe among whom they
dwelt. In many places they lighted the torch of fcience for Europe, then bar-
barous, which reaped no fmall advantage likewife from it's acquaintance with
their oriental brethren by means of the croifades. And befides, as many of
them embraced chriftianity in the countries where tbey were fettled, they thus
became denizens of Europe, in Spain, Sicily, and other parts.
2. The turks^ a people from Turkiftan, notwithllanding they have refided in
Europe for more than three centuries, are ftill ftrangers in it. They put an end
to the eaftern empire, which had been a burden to itfelf and to the World for
above a thoufand years ; and thus unintentionally and unconfciouily drove the
arts weft ward into Europe. By their attacks on the eurot)ean powers they have
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486 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY- [Book XVI.
kept theirvalour alert for fome centuries, and thus prcferved them from falling
under any foreign dominion : a flight compenfatton for the incomparably greater
evil of having reduced the fined lands of Europe to a defert, and tlic once moft
ingenious greeks to £uthle(s flaves, to diflblute barbarians. How many works of
art have thefe ignorant people dcftroyed ! how much have they diffipated, that
can never be reftored ! Their em^re is one vaft prifon for all the europeans that
dwell in it ; but it will fall, when it*s time arrives : for what have foreigners to do
in Europe, who, after the lapfe of a thoufand years, arc ftill refolute to remain
afiatic barbarians ?
3. The jews we fliall confider here only as parafitical plants^Jiaving fixed
themfelves onalmoft all the nations of Europe, and fucked more or lefs of their
juices. After the downfal of ancient Rome, there were yet comparatively few
of them in Europa; but from tlie perfecution of the arabs they fled thither in
gseat multitudes, and divided themfelves nationally. That the leprofy was
brought into Europe by them is improbable : but it was a dill worfe fcab, that
in all barbarous ages they were the^afe implements of ufury, as bankers^ brokers,
and fervants of the empire, and thus hardened the proud barbarian ignorance of
the europeans in trade againd their own profit. They were often treated with
great cruelty; and what they had acquired by avarice and deceit, or by indudry,
prudence» and order, was tyrannically extorted from them: but being accus-
tomed to fuch treatment, and forced to reckon upon it, they carried their artifice
and extortion to greater lengths. Still to many countries they were indifpeniable
at that time, and are even now : it cannot be denied, likewife, that by them he»
brew literature was preferved; by them the fciences acquired from the arabs,
phyfic and philofophy, were propagated in the dark ages; and much other good
was performed, for which no one but a jew was adapted. A time will come, when
no perfon in Europe will inquire whether a man be a jew or a chridian; as the
jews Will equally live according to european laws, and contribute to the welfare of
the date. Nothbg but a barbarous conditution could have been fuch an ob-
llacle as to have prevented this, or rendered their abilities injurious.
4. I pa(s over the armenians, whom I confider only as travellers in our quarter
of the Globe : but then I perceive a numeroxis, foreign, heathen, fubtemuiean
people, the gipjles^ in almod all the countries of Europe, Whence came they ?
How did the fevcn or eight hundred thoufand perfons, at which they are edi-
mated by their lated hidoriographers *, come hither? A reprobated indian
cad, removed by birth from every thing they edeem divine, honourable, and be-
• Grenmtn'i Htߧr: Virfiuh mtkr dig Ziimmr ger'f Zmvach zur S^rMcbtnkwub^ «Addidoo to
iSAorical Eflky on the Gipfici/ 87. Ratdi- Philolcggy/ 82.
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Crap. V.} Fanign Nations h Eurvpe* 487
coming a citizen» and ftill remaining true to thi3 degrading deftination after the
lapfe of ages» for what in Europe are they fit, except for militaiy difcipline, tb^
moft fpeedy changer of manners?
CHAPTER VI.
General RefieSions and DeduSionr^
Such appears the pifture of the people of Europe ^ a particoloured compo«'
fition, that would appear ftill more confufed, were we only to continue through
the times, with which we ate acquainted. It was not lb in Japan, China, or
Hindoftan : it is fo in no country (hut up from others by it*s fituation or confti-
tution. And yet has Europe no great fea beyond the Alps, fo that it might be
fuppoled nations could hereftand fide by fide as walls? A flight view of the
fituation and nature of this quarter of the Globe, with the charafter and cir-
cumftances of it's nations, will lead us to other conclufions.
I. Eaftwards, 011 the righ't hand, obferve that vaß elevated region, afiatic Ta*
iary\ and in reading of the troubles that threw Europe into confufion in
the middle ages, exclaim with Triftram Shandy, * this was the fource of
all our misfortunes.' I will not venture to inquire, whether all the northern
curopeans dwelt there, and for how long a time : for once the whole north
of Europe was no better than Siberia and Mungalia, the cradle of ermtic
hordes: in each, indolent migration, and the khan mode of government under
tatarian lords» was hereditary, and indigenous to the wandering people. As,
befide this, Europe beyond the Alps is evidently an inclined plane, extending from
thefe populous tätarian heights weftward to the fea, on which» when one barba-
rian horde was prefled upon by another, it muft defcend toward the weft»
and drive others before it, Europe was long kept in a tatarian ftate geo-
graphically. Such for more than a thoufand years is the unpleafing afpeft pre-
fented by the hiftory of Europe, in which kingdoms and nations, were never at
quiet, either from having acquired the habit of wandering, or from being prefled
upon by others. As it is undeniable, that, in the ancient Wond, the great
mountains of Afia, with their continuation in Europe, produced a wonderful
difierence of climate and charafter between the northern and fouthern parts of
the Globe, let us, who are on the north of the Alps, confole ourfelves with the
lefleftion, that both in manners and inftitutions we belong not to the original
afiatic Tatary, but to it's european continuation..
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488 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVL
2. Europe» particularly in comparifon with the north of A(ia, is a temperate
fouHtry, abounding with river Sy coqfisy promontories, and bays: and this alone was
fufficient to render the deftiny of it's nations advantageouily diftinguifhedfrom
that of their afiatic neighbours. On the Sea of Afoph and the Euxine they
were near the grecian colonies, and the mod flouriQiing commerce of thofe
days: all the nations, that founded kingdoms or tarried here, became acquainted
with many others, and indeed acquired a certain degree of familiarity with
the arts and fciences. But the Baltic was flill more particularly to the north of
Europe, what the Mediterranean was to the fouth. The coafts of Pruffia were
already known to the greeks and romans by the trade in amber: none of the
nations that fettled on them, whatever their defcent, remained wholly ftrangcrs
to commerce; a commerce, which foon united itfelf with that of the Euxine,
and even extended to the White Sea; in confequence a fort of common inter-
cQurfe took place between the fouth of Afia and the caft of Europe, and be-
tween the northern parts of Europe and of Afia, in which even nations that
were far from civilized had a fhare *. The coafb of Scandinavia and the North
Sea foon fwarmed with merchants, pirates, voyagers, and adventurers, who
launched out on every fea» attempted the coafts and countries of all Europe, and
performed aftonifhing exploits. The belgae united Gaul and Britain; and the
Mediterranean was not fafe from the expeditions of northern barbarians : they
made pilgrimages to Rome ; they traded to Conflantinople, and ferved in it*s
armies.
From all thefe circumflances, with the long continued migrations by land»
at length arofe in this fmall portion of the Globe a difpolition to a grand union of
ftations, which the romans had already undefignedly prepared by their conquefh,
and which in any other place could not eafily have been brought to bear. In
no one quarter of the Globe have nations been fo inteitningled as in Europe;
in no one have they fo often and fo completely changed their abodes, and with
them their way of Ufe and manners. In many c(^ntries it would now be dif-
ficult for the inhabitants in general, leaving individuals out of the queftion, to
fay of what race, of what nation they are; whether they be defcended firom
goths, moors, jews, Carthaginians, or romans; whether from gad, cimbri, bur-
gundians, franks, normans, faxons, ilavians, fins, or illyrians ; and what intermix-
ture of blood took place among their anceftors. In the courfe of ages the
ancient family flamp of many europein pations has been foftened down and al-
• Some very «(eful informatioa on this fub- /then Hamdtls, «Hiftory of the Commerce ofGer-
jea it colledcd in Fifcher's Gi/cbUbti its Deus- many,* Vol. I.
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Cha?. vi.] General Reflexions mtd DeduSiions. 489
tcred by a hundred caufes, and without this the general fpirit of Europe could
not eafily have been excited.
3. That we now find themoß ancient inhabitantsof this quarter of the Globe only on
the mouHtainSy or driven into it*s extreme eoaßs and corner Sy is i natural occurrence,
of which inftances may be found in every part of the World, even in the afiatic
iflands. In many of thefe the mountains are inhabited by a peculiar race,
commonly lefs civilized, who were probably the ancient inhabitants of the land,
obliged to retire before younger and bolder ftrangers. How could it be other-
wife in Europe, where nations prefled upon and drove out one another more
than in any place ? The feries of them, however, may be traced up to a few
principal names \ and, what is iingular, we find in very diiTercnt re^ons the fame
people, who appear to have followed one another, for the mofl part near together.
Thus the cimbri followed the gael; the germans, both ; the flavians, the germans j
and occupied their lands. As the flrata of our Earth follow in regular fuccef-
fion, fo do the nations in our quarter of the Globe; often, indeed, turned up*
fide down, yet (till diflinguifhable in their primitive fituation. The inquirers into
their languages and manners muft make the befl ufe of their time, while the)r
are flill to be diftinguifhed ; for every thing in Europe tends to a gradual ex-
tinftion of national charafter. The hiftorian of mankind, however, muft take
care, that he choofes no tribe exclufively as his &vourite, and exalt it at the ex-
penfe of others, whofe fituation and circumflances denied them fame and for-
tune. Thegennans have derived information even from the flavians: the cimbri
and kttonians might probably have become greeks, had they been differently
feated with refpeft to furrounding nations. We may rejoice, that people of fuch
a flrong, handfomc, and noble form, chafle manners, generofity, and probity, as
the germans, pofTefTed the roman world, inftead perhaps of huns or bulgarians:
but on this account to efleem them God's chofen people in Europe, to whom
the World belongs in right of their innate nobility, and to whom other nations
were deflined to be fubfervient in confequence of this preeminence, would be
to difplay the bafe pride of a barbarian. The barbarian lords it over thofe
whom he has vanquifhed: the polifhed conqueror civilizes thofe whom he
fubdues.
4. No nation of Europe has raiftd itfelf to a polißied ßate : each has endeavoured
rather to retain it's ancient barbarous manners, as long as it pof&bly could; to
which it's raw, unprolific climate, and the nccefSty of a rude military conflitu-
tion, greatly contributed. No nation of Europe, for example, has letters of it's
own, or invented them for itfelf: from the fpanifh to the runic of the north, all
arc derived from the alphabets of other nations: all the cultivation of the eafl.
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490 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVL
weft, and north of Europe, b a plant fprung from roman, greek, and arabic
feed. It was long ere this plant could thrive on the rugged foil, and produce
fruit of it's own, at firft fufficiently four: and for this a fingular inftrumcnt was
neceflary, a foreign religion -^ that afpiritual conquefl might complete, what the re-
mans were unable to accomplifti by their arms. Thus above all things we have
to confider this new inftrument of civilization, which had no ioferiour aim to
that of moulding all nations into one happy people, both in this World, and ia
the next, and which operated no where fo powerfully as in Europe.
Behold the glorious ftandard raifed on high.
To which for hope and comfort mortals flyj
Myriads of fouls to it allegiance vow.
Myriads of fuppliant knees before it bow r
Secure of future life it's votary braves
The fear of death ; in viftory's plume it waves t
Aweftruck the favage warrior trembling (lands;
He fees the crofs^ and drops his weaponed hands.
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C 491 ]
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY-
BOOK XVIL
SEVENTY years before the diffolution of the jewilh (late, a man was
born in it, by whom an unexpedled revolution was brought about in the
fcntiments of men, as well as in their manners and inftitutions. This man,
who was named Jefus<, born in poverty, though defccnded from the ancient royal
lineage, dwelling in the ruded part oi the country, and educated remote from
the learning and wifdom of his nation, now deeply declined, lived unnoticed
the greater part of his (hort life, till, confecrated by a celellial appearance at the
Jordan, he took to himfelf twelve men of his own condition as difciples, travelled
with them through a part of Judea, and fooa after fent them round to announce
the approach of a new kingdom. The kingdom, that he announced, he ftyled
the kingdom of God, a JiÄax.Sßly kingffesn» in which only chofen men could
participate, and for the obtaining of which he propofed not external duties and
ceremonies, but pure mental and fpiritual virtues. The moft genuine humanity is
contained in the few difcourfes of his, that are preferved : humanity he difplayed
in his life, and confirmed by his death c and the &vourite name, by which he
chofc to diftinguUh himfelf, was that of the Jon of man. That he (hould have
many followers among his countrymen, particularly of the poor and oppreffed;
and that he fliould foon be removed out of the way by thofe, who under the
cloak of fanftity oppreffed the people, fo that we fcarcely know with
precifion the time of his appearance ; were the natural confequences of his
Situation.
But what was Üiiskingdom of Heaven^ the approach of which Jefus announced,
urged others to defire, and ftrove himfelf to eftablifh ? That it was no
worldly^fovereignty, is proved by every thing he faid and did, to the laft unequi-
vocal confcffion he made before his judges. As a fpiritual deliverer of his race,
he fought to form children of Gody who, under whatever laws they lived, Ihould
pro/nöt^iJtlLwelfarco principles; and, patient under firf-
ferings, reign in fpite of them as kings in the realm of truth and goodnefs. It is
felfevident, that fuch a purpofe alone could be confiftent with the intention of Pro-
vidence in regarf to mankind; a purpofe, in the promotion of which all the wife
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492 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVII-
and good upon Earth muft cooperate, in proportion to the purity of their
thoughts and endeavours ; for what can man propofe as the ftandard of hi«
grthly perfeftion and happinefs, but this univcrfally operating, pure hu-
manity ?
\Vith reverence I bend before thy noble form, thou head and founder of a
kingdom, fo great in it's object, fo durable in it's extent, fo fimple and ani-
mated in it*s principles, fo efficacious in it's motives, that the fphere of this
terreftrial life appears too narrow for it. No where in hiftory find I a revolu-
tion fo quietly efiefted in fo fbort a time, planted in fuch a lingular manner by
feeble inftruments, propagated over all the Earth with yet indeterminable effcft^
and cultivated fo as to produce good or bad fruit, as that, which has fpread
among nations under the name, not properly of thy religiotiy that is to fay, of
thy vital fcheme for the welfare of mankind, but moftly of thy worfliip^ tliat is,
an unreflefting adoration of thy crofs and perfon. Thy penetrating mind
fbrefaw this; and it is diflionouring thy name, to affix it to every turbid ftream
from thy pure fountain. We will avoid it as much as poffible : thy placid
form (hall ftand alone before the whole hiftory, that takes it's rife from thee«.
CHAPTER I.
Origin $f Chrißtatiity, with the fundamental Principles it included.
Singular as it appears, that a revolution aSeAing more than one quarter of
the Globe (hould originate from a country fo defpifed as Judea, hiftorical
grounds for it may be difcovered on a clofer infpedlion. The revolution, of
which we fpeak, was intelleftiml; and however contemptible the jews may have
been deemed by the greeks and romans, they had this to boaft, that, before
any other nation of Afia or of Europe, they poffeffed writings of ancient date,
on which their conflitution was founded, and which, in confequence of this
conftitution, muft promote the cultivation of a particular kind of fcience and
literature. Neither greeks nor romans could lay claim to fuch a code of reli-
^ous and political inftitutlons, which, interwoven with ancient fcriptural family
records, was confided to the care of a particular and numerous tribe, and pre-
ferved by it with fuperftitious reverence.
In courfe of time a. kind of refined fenfe naturally grew out of this antiquated
letter, which was promoted by the repeated difpcrfion of the jews among other
jiations. In the canon of their facred writmgs were mtermixed poems, moral
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Cfl A p . I.] Origin and Principles of Chrißianity. 493
maxims, and fublime orations j that, written at various times, and on very
different occafions, grew into a coUeftion, which was foon confidered as one
continued fyftem, and out of which one leading fenfe was drawn. The pro-
phets of this nation, who, as the appointed guardians of the law of the land, had
exhibited to the people a pifture of what they ought to be, and were not, each
according to Ws peculiar way of thinking, at one time teaching and exhorting,
at another warning or confoling, bat always with patriotic hope, had left pof-
terity, in thefe fruits of their heads and hearts, many feeds of new ideas, which
every man might cultivate after hb own manner. From all thefe was gradually
formed a fyftematic expeftation of a king^ who (hould deliver his fallen, obe-
dient pe«>ple ; bring them golden days, fuch as they had never known under the
greateft of their ancient fbvereigns; and begin a new order of things. Con-
formably to the language of the prophets, thefe views were theocratic : with the
collefted charafters of a meffiah they were moulded into a lively image, and
confidered as the certain prerogative of the nation. In Paleftine the increafing
mifery of the people made them hold-faft this idea : in other countries, in Egjrpt
for example, where many jews had refided fince the diflblution of the monarchy
of Alexander, thefe notions acquired more of a grecian form ;, apocryphal books,
which exhibited thefe prophecies in a new (hape, were circulated i and the
time was now arrived,, when thefe dreams, having attained their acme, mufl:
come to a conclufion. From the people a man arofe, whofc mind, ex-
alted above all earthly chimeras, united all the hopes, wifhes, and prediAions
of the prophets in the defign of an ideal kingdom, which fhould be nothing,
lefs than an ifraelitifh kingdom of Heaven. In this lofty plan he forefaw the
approaching downfal of his nation; and denounced a fpeedy and lamentable end
to their fplendid temple, and to their worfliip, now completely converted into
fuperftition. The kingdom of God was to be extended to all nations j and the
people, who deemed it cxclufively their own, were confidered by him as a life-
Icls corlc.
What comprehenfive force of mind mufl: have been requifite, to difcern and
announce any thing of the kind at that time in Judea, is evident from the
unfriendly reception given to this doftrine by the chief perfons and learned mea
among the jews : it was looked upon as a rebellion againft Mofcs, and agajnft
God i as treafon to the nation, whofe common hopes it unpatriotically de-
ftroyed. Even to the apoftles the exjudaifm of chriftianity Wwvs a Joftrine
above all others difiicult to fwallow : and the moft learned of them, Paul, found
all the fubtleties of jewiib logic neceüary, 10 render it comprelienlible to the
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494 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVII.
chriftian jews, even out of Judea. It was well, that Providence itfelf gave the
firft ftroke, and that with the deftruftion of Jerufalem the ancient walls were
thrown down, which with unyielding ftubbornnefs feparated God's chofen people,
as they called themfelves, from all others upon Earth. The time of a peculiar
national worfliip, teeming with pride and fuperftition, was now over: for necef-
fary as fuch inftitutions might have been in former days, when every nation,
educated in a narrow family circle, ripened as a bunch of grapes on it*s own
ftalk, all human exertions in this part of the World liad now tended for fome
centuries, to unite nations, by means of war, commerce, arts, fcience, and £imi-
liar intercourfc, and prefs from the fruit of all one common liquor. The pre-
judices of national religion flood chiefly in the way of this union : and as, while
the romans exercifed a general fpirit of toleration throughout their extenfive
empire, and the ecle<flic philofoghy, that Angular compound of all fchools and
fedts, was univerftiUy difTufed, ^popular faith now arofe, which made of all nations
one people, and proceeded immediately from the moft obftinate, which had
hitherto efteemed itfelf preeminently diftinguiflied from all others ; this was at
any rate a great and perilous flep in the hiftory of mankind, in whatever manner
it was undertaken. It made all people brethren, in leading them to the know-
ledge of one God and faviour : but it was capable of rendering them ilaves, if
this religion were impofed upon them as a yoke. The keys of the kingdom of
Heaven, both in this world and the next, might introduce pharifeifm as dan-
gerous, when in the hands of other nations, as ever they did in the hands of the
jews.
The Tpeedy and firm eflablifliment of chriftianity was principally promoted
by a belief, which originated from it's founder himfelf : this was the opinion of
his earfy return, and thejevelatton of his kingdom upon Earth. This belief Jefus
avoweabeforc his judge, and frequently repeated in the lafl: days of his life : his
followers adhered to it, and expefted the appearance of his kingdom. The
fpiritually minded chriftian conceived therein the idea of a fpiritual kingdom ;
the carnally minded, of a temporal fovereignty : and as the overftretchcd ima-
ginations of thofe times and countries were not over-rational in their reveries,
jewifli chriftian apocalypfes arofe, teeming with various prophecies, figns, and
dreams. Antichrift was firft to be deftroyed i and on the delay of Chrift's re-
turn, this man of fin was firft to be revealed, then to increafe, and grow up
to the utmoft height in his abominations, till the faviour ftiould come again, and
refufcitate his people.
It cannot be denied, but that fuch expedations muft have occafioned many
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Chap. I.] Origin and Principles of Chrißianiiy. 495
perfecutions of the early chriftians ; for Rome, the miftrefs of the World, could
not be indifferent to the propagation of fuch opinions, announcing it's approach-
ing overthrow, and reprefenting it as an antichriftian objeft of horrour or con-
tempt. Thus fuch prophets were foon confidered as unpatriotic dcfpifers of
their country and the World, nay, as men notorioufly guilty of a general hatred
to mankind ; and many a one, impatient of bis faviour's return, ran to meet
martyrdom. It b certain, however, that this hope of a kingdom of Chrift nigh at
hand, in Heaven, or on Earth, powerfully united the minds of men, and detached
tliem from the Worid. This they defpifed as funk in mifery ; while they be-
held every where around them, what they believed fo near. Heace they
acquired courage, to rife above the fpirit of the times, the power of perfecutors,
the mockery of the incredulous 5 which otherwife no one could have furmounted :
they fojourned here as paiTengers, whofe refidence was where their leader was
gone before them, and wlience he was foon to be revealed.
Befide the leading points of hiftory, that have been mentioned, it appears
not unnecefTary, to mark fome of inferiour magnitude, that contributed greatly
to the ftrufture of chriftianity.
I. The benevolent fentiments of Chrifi had made fraternal concord and placa-
bility, adkive affiftance to the poor and needy, in (hort every duty of man, the
common tie of his followers, fo that, conformably to this, chriftianity could
not be other than a genuine bond offriendfltip and brotherly love. There can be
no doubt, that this inftrument of humanity contributed much at all times, and
particularly in the beginning, to it's reception and extenfion. The poor and
needy, the opprefled, the bondfman and the ilave, the publican and the (inner,
embraced it j and in confequence the firft chriftian communities were termed
aflemblies of beggars by the heathen. Now as the new religion was neither
capable nor delirous of removing the diftindtion of ranks, that then exifted in
the World, nothing was left for it but minds poffefled of chriftian meeknefs,
with all the weeds that would fpring up at the fame time on this good ground.
Rich widows foon attraded a number of beggars by their gifts, who occaiionally
difturbed the peace of whole communities. Alms could not fail to be efleemed
on one fide as the true treafuresof the kingdom of Heaven, and to be fought on
the other : in both cafes, not only that noble pride, the offspring of independent
merit and ufeful induftry, but often impartiality and truth, yielded to bafe
flattery. The almfchefts of communities became the common property of
martyrs : gifts to the community were exalted to the title of the fpirit of chrif-
tianity, while it's morals were corrupted by the exaggerated praife beftowed on
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49« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XVli.
fuch aös. Though the neceflSty of the times may excufc much of this, it it
nevertbelefs certain, that, if human fociety be confidered as one large hofpital,
and chriftianity it*s common ahnfbox, a depraved ftate of morals and politics
muft neceffarily enfue.
2. ChriJUanity was to be a community governed by elders and teacken wkjatfjiny
r»mIdIyL.aiiÜwrity, Thefe were to guide the flock as fhepherds, decide their
differences, correfl: their faults with zeal and affeftion, and lead them to
Heaven by their counfel, their influence, their precepts, and their example. A
noble office, when worthily executed, and not prevented by circumfbmces from
being fulfilled : for it blunts the fangs of the law, extra£ks the thorns from
claims and contefts, and unites the divine, the father, and the judge. But
how was it, when, in courfe of time, the fhepherds treated their human flocks
as adual flieep, or led them as beafts of burden to browzc on thiftter?'"^ow,
when wolves, legally c^led, came among the flocks inftead of fliephcrds ?
^ Childifti obedience then foon became a chriftian virtue : it became a chriftian
').• virtue, for a man to renounce the ufe of his reafon, and to follow the authority of
/* another's opinion inftead of his own convidtion, while the bifliop, inftead of
an apoftle, was meflenger, witnefs, teacher, expounder, judg^, and arbiter.
Nothing now was prized fo highly as faith, as quietly following the leader : the
man, who ventured to have an opinion of his own, was an obftinate heretic, and
excluded from the kingdom of God and the church. Bifliops and their fub-
alterns, in defiance of the doftrines of Chrift, interfered in family difputes
and civil af&irsj and foon they quarrelled among each other, which fliould
rule the reft. Hence the contefts for the chief epifcopal fees, and the gradual
extenfion of their rights : hence the endlefs difpute, between the fceptre and
the crofier, between the right arm and the left, between the crown and
the mitre. Certain as it is, that, in times of tyranny, juft and pious judges
were indifpenfable aids to men, who had the misfortune to live without political
inftitutions ; fcarcely any thing more fcandalous^ can be conceived, than the
long difpute between the fpiritual arm and the temporal, which kept Europe
in perpetual confufion for more than a thouland years. In this place the fait was
iniipid, in that it was too pungent.
3 . Chrißianity had a certain formulary^ of which ihofe who were initiated into it by
baptifm made frofeßon : and fimple as this formulary was, more difturbances,
perfecutions, and bitternefs, arofe in courfe of time from the harmlefs expiUfions,
Father^ Son, and Spirit, than fiom any other three words in human language.
The farther men departed from the principles of chriftianity, confidered as an
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Chap. I.] Origin and Principles of Chriftiamty. 49 7
aftiyr inftitwtitinj founded fee Ihc^ood of mankind ; the more men {peculated
beyond the limits of human reafon. Myfteries were difcovered ; and at length
the whole of the chriftian doörinc was converted into myftery. After the books
of the New Teftament were introduced into the church as a canon, things were
demonftrated fix)m them, and indeed from books of thcjewilh conllitution, books
which few could read in the original, and of which the primitive fignification
had long been loft, that from them are not to be proved. Hence fyftems
and berelies multiplied, to ftifle which the worft of all means were chofen,
tccl^afiical ajfemblies andfynods. How many of thefc are the difgrace of chrif-
tianity, and of common fenfe! Pride and Intolerance called them together j
Difcord, Party Spirit, Groffnefs, and Knavery, fwayed them : and at length
Force, Arbitrary Power, Infolcnce, Pimping, Deceit, or Accident, decided, un-
der the name of the Holy Spirit, for the whole church, nay for time and eter-
nity. In a (hort time, n<H)e were found fo competent to determine articles of
faith as the chriftianized emperors, to whom Conftantine had bequeathed the
innate hereditary right, to enjoin creeds and canons concerning Father, Son, and
Spirit, concerning a/aoso-io^ and o^oitfcrtof, the fingle or double nature of Chrift»
Mary the mother of God, and the created or uncreated glory, that appeared at
Chrift's baptifm. Thefc pretenfions, with the confequences that enfued from
them, will remain an eternal difgrace to the byzantine throne, and to every
throne, by which it was imitated; for with their ignorant power they fup-
ported and perpetuated perfecutions, fcliifms, and difturbances, which improved
neither the fpirit nor the morality of men, but tended to undermine the church,
the ftate, and the thrones themfelvcs. The hiftory of the firft chriftian empiie,
that of Conftantinople, is fuch a melancholy exhibition of bafe treachery, and
horrible cruelty, that, to the moment of it's depJorable end, it ftands a warning
monument to all polemic chriftian governments.
4. Chrißianity had ifs Jacred writings^ Tohich fprung in part from occafional
epiftlesy and in party zvith few exceptions ^ from oral communications; thefe in time
were made the ftandard of faith, foon became the banner of every contending
party, and were abirfed in every way, that want of fenfe could didate. Each
party either proved from them what it wilhed to prove ; or men hefitated not to
mutilate them, and to forge with imbluftiing effrontery falfe golpels, epiftles,
and revelations. In the name of the apoftles. Pious frauds in fuch things more
deteftable than perjury, as it lies to a whole feries of ages and generations with-
out end, was foon reckoned no fin, but a meritorious ad for the honour of God,
and the falvation of fouls. Hence the many fpurious writings of the apoftles
and fathers of the church : hence the numerous fidions of miraclci» martyrs, dona-
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49« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIL
tioas» conftitutions» and decretals» the uncertainty of which fteals through all
the early and middle ages of ecclefiaftical hiftory, almofl: down to the xeforma*
tion, like a thief in the night. When once the corrupt principle was admitted»
that a man might deal treacherouily, invent lies, and write fidtons, for the good
of the church, hiftorical faith was wounded: the tongue, the pen, the memory
and imagination of men, had loft their rule and compafs ; fo that ckrifiUm vera-
city had a more juft claim to become proverbial, than grecian honefty, or punic
&ith. This is the more to be regretted, as the epoch of chriftxanity follows the
period of the moft excellent hiftorians of Greece and Rome^ after whom true
hiftory almoft difappears at once with the chriftian era for many centuries. It
quickly finks into a chronicle of bifliops, churches, and monks; as the pen was
employed, not for what is moft worthy of man, not for the Worid and the ftatc,
but for the church, or for orders, cloifters, and (e6ts; and as men were accuftomed
to homilies, and the people were to believe thebifliop in all things, writers con«
fidered the whole World as a race of believers, as a chriftian flock.
5. Chrifliamty had only two facred rites, very ßmple, and well adapted to ikeir
purpofes ; for nothing was farther from the intention of it's founder, than that
it Ihould be a ceremonial religion. But deuterochriftianity foon became inter-
mixed with jewißi and heathen pradices, according to the difference of places
and times, fo that the baptifm of in&nts was converted into an exordfhx of
Satan, and a feaft in commemoration of a departed friend became the creation
of a God, a bloodlefs facrifice, a miracle for the remiffion of fin, a viaticum to
Che other World. Unfortunately the period of chriftianity coincided with that
of ignorance, barbarifm, and depraved tafte; whence little truly great and no-
ble could enter into it's ceremonies, the ftrufture of it*s churches, the inftitu-
tion of it's feftivals, ftatutes, and pageantry, it's hymns, prayers, and rituals.
Thefe ceremonies rolled on from land to land, from one quarter of the Globe
to another : what originally derived fome local meaning firom ancient cuftom
loft it in foreign countries, and remote times : thus the fpirit of chriftian litur-
gies became a fingular jumble of jewifh, egyptian, greek, roman, barbarian,
praftices, in which what was ferious frequently became tifcfome, or abfurd. A
hiftory of chriftian tafte, in feftivals, temples, rituals, confecrations, and lite*
rary compofition, contemplated with a philofophic eye, would exhibit the moft
chequered pifture the World ever beheld, of a fubjeft that was intended to be
free of ceremony. And as this chriftian tafte in time infinuated itfelf into
juridical and political cuftoms, domeflic eflablilhments, plays, romances,
dances, fongs, tournaments, coats of arms, battles, triumphs, and other fisftivi-
ties; it muft be confeflcd^ that the human mind received fxoai it an incredi«
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Chaf . I.] Origin and Principles ef Ckrifiiamty. 499
ble twift ; and that the crofs creded over nations ftampcd a fingular impreffion
on their foreheads. The pifciculi chrißiani fwam for ages in a turbid element.
6. Chriß lived unmarriedy and his mother was a virgin : ferene and cheerful as
he wasy he laved occaßonalfiUtudey and prayed in private. The fpirit of the orien-
tals, the egyptians in particular, who were previoully inclined to contemplation,
feclufion, and religious indolence, carried the notion of the hdLinels of celibacy»
efpecially in the priefthood, and of the pleaiingnefi to God of virginity, foli-
tude, and a contemplative life, to fuch an extravagant pitch, that, as eflenes,
therapeutse, and other folitaries, akeady abounded, above all in Egypt, the fpi«
rit of feclufion, vows, &ftbg, penitence, prayer, and a monadic life, was fet in
full fermentation by chriftiamty. In different countries, indeed, it aflumed
di&rent fianns \ and according as it was modified, proved either a benefit, or an
injury : upon the whole, however, it is incontrovertible, that the injurioufhefs
of this way of life, the moment it becomes an irrevocable law, a llavifh yoke»
or a political net, is predominant, for fociety in general, as well as for it's in«
dividual members. From China and Thibet, to Ireland, Mexico» and Peru,
cl(Hfters of bonzes, lamas, and talapoins, and of all chriftian monks and nuns,
in their feveral kinds and clafles, are the dungeons of religion and the ftate, fe-
minaries of barbarity, vice, and oppreffion, or fewers of the mofl abominable
lufts and knaveries. And though we would deprive no fpiritual order of it*s
merits with refpedt to the culture of the earth, the improvement of man, or the
promotion of fcience ; we ought never to fhut our ears againft the fecret fighs
and lamentations, that echo through thefe hollow vaults, feduded from human«
kind ; or will we turn our heads, to view the empty vifions of fupramundane
contemplation, or the continued cabals of furious monkifh zeal, in a form cer«
tainly adapted to no enlightened age« To chriftianity they are unqueftionably
foreign ; for Chrift was no monk ; Mary, no nun ; the moft ancient of the apo«
ftlcs was accompanied by his wife; and neither Chrift, nor any of the twelve,
knew aught of fupramundane contemplation.
7. Finally, chrißianiiyy in feeking to found a heavenly kingdom upon Earthy and
to convince men of the tranfitorinefs of all earthly things, at all times formed
thofe pure and tranquil minds, which fought not the eyes of the World, and
performed their good deeds before God ; but, alas ! it alfo cherUhed, by it's
grofs abufe, that falfe enthufiafm, which, almoft from it's commencement, gave
birth to frantic martyrs and prophets in abundance. They endeavoured to
ered a kingdom of Heaven upon the Earth, without knowing where or how it
was to fland. They oppoied the government, and loofed the bands of order,
without living the World a better; while vulgar pride, bafe arrpg^ce, fcanda-
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500 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVII.
lous luft, and mad ftupidity, concealed fhemfdves under the overflow of chrif-
tian zeal. As the deceived jews followed their Pfeudo-Meffiahs, the chriftian»
in one place flocked to the banners of bold impoftorc, in another fawned on the
mofl: defpicable and diflblute tyrants, as if they had eftabliflied the kingdom of
God upon Earth, when they built for them churches, or conferred on them
donations. Thus the weak Conftantine was flattered ; and this myftic lan-
guage of prophetic fanaticifm extended itfclf, according to times and circum-
ftances, both to men and women. The Paraclete has often appeared -, and the
Spirit has often fpoken to a deeply enamoured enthufiaft from female Ups. Hif-
tory fliows what difcord and calamity have been introduced into the chrifliaQ
World by chiJiails and anabaptifts, donatifts, montanifts, prifcilJianifts, circumccl-
lions, and others: how fomc of heated imaginations have defpifcd and deftroyed
works of fcience, dcmoliflied and extirpated monuments of art, inftitutions, and
men : how a palpable impoflurc, or ridiculous accident, occafionally fct whole
countries in commotion : how, for example, the fancied approach of the World's
end drove all Europe into Alia. Let us not, however, refufe it's due praife to
pure chriflian enthufiafm : this, when it took a right courfc, performed more
in a (hort time for many ages, than all the coolnefs and indifference of philofo-
phy «uld ever accomplifli. The leaves of deceit fall offj but the fruit ripens.
The flames of time confumc the ftraw and ftubblej but real gold they can
only refine.
Whatever melancholy has croflTed my mind, while my pen has traced many
of thefe fliameful abufes of the bcft of things, I proceed with cheerfulnefs to
the propagation of chriftianity in different countries and regions : for as medi-
cine may be converted into poifon, poifon may be rendered falutifisrousj and
what is pure and good in it's origin muft ultimately prove triumphant.
CHAPTER«.
Propagation of Chrißanity in the Eaß.
I V Judea chriftianity grew under oppreffion, and retained the flamp of op-
prcflion in it's form, as long as the jewilb ftate endured. The nazarencs and
cbionitcs, m all probability the remains of the firft body of chriftiansj were poor
and low perfons, and have long been cxtinfts their names alone remaining in
the lifl: of heretics, on account of their opinion, that Jefus was a mere man, tbc
fon of Jofeph and Mary. It is to be regretted, that their Gofpcl is loft 5 as in
it probably wc Ihould have the earlicft colleftioA, though not altogether pure.
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Chap. IL] Propagation of Chrißumity in the Eaß. 501
of the neareft local traditions of the lifcofChrift. Thus, too, the ancient
books in poffeflion of the fabeans,or Saint John's chriftians, were probably not
unworthy notice : for though a pure illuftration of the primitive times could by
no means be expedted from this &bling fedk, a compound of jews and chriftians,
even fables often throw light on things of this kind*.
The influence of the church at Jerufalem on other communities arofe chiefly
firom the refpe£l paid to the apoßles: for as James, tiie brother of Jcfus, a fenfible
and worthy man, prefided over it for a number of years, there can be no doubt,
but it's form would be a model to others. A jewifli mo<lel, therefore: and as
almoft every country, and every citj', of primitive chriftendom, would be con-
verted by an apoftle, every where imitations of the church at Jerufalem, apofto-
lical communities, arofe. The bißiop,who received the urflion of the Spirit
from an apoftle, occupied the apoftle's place, and with it enjoyed his authority.
The power of the Spirit, which he had received, he again imparted, and foon
became a kind of high-prieft, a mediator between God and man. As the firft
council at Jerufelem Jppke in the. name of the Holy Spirit, other councils did
the fame in imitation of it ; and we are ftartled at the fpiritual power very early
acquired by the bifliops, in the afiatic provinces. Thus the authority of the
apoftles, which vifibly defcended to the bifliops, rendered the moft ancient con-
ftitution of the church ariftocratic; and in this conftitution lay the germe of a
future hierarchy, and a popedom. What is faid of the pure virginity of the
church during the firft three centuries is either fidtion, or exaggeration.
It is well known, that an oriental philofophy^ as it is called, had fpread very
confiderably in the firft ages of chriftianity. This, however, more dofely in-
veftigated, appean to have been nothing but a flioot firom the ecledic, or mo-
dem platonic philofophy, fuch as the country and time were adapted to pro-
duce. It wound itfelf round judaifm and clmftianity ; but neither fprang from
them, nor produced them any fruits. The gnoftics were branded with the
name of heretics, from the commencement of chriftianity, becaufc the chriftians
would not admit among them any fubtiliziiig philofophafters ; and many of
theoi would have remained unknown to us, had they not been entered in the
rolls of fchifm. We could wifli, that their writings alfo had be^n prcfcrved,
as they would not be unwelcome to us, with regard to the canon of the
New Teftament : at prefent we perceive from a few particular opinions of
this numerous feA, yet remaining, nothing more than a crude attempt,
* The neweft and moft authentic account of Ltnguage of the Sabaoans/ 1780. Thisflioald
tbi« feAif in Nofberg*« Commtnt /# JUlii* l^ be printed with the Eilays of Walch and otheri«
lUi^m Ma9nm$ * Eflay on the ReUgipA and after the manner of older colleAions.
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501 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoükXVIL
to intermix the fiftions of the oriental platonifts, rcfpefting the nature
of God, and the creation of the World, with judajfrft and chriftianity, and
thence form a metaphyfical theology, principally of allegorical names, with
a theodicy and mora! philo((>phy. As the name of heretic is unknown to the
/ -y^ ^-''^^fl.ßry. of a)aakind*.CYery one of tEefe wiftjecefefttl ttttcmptfr-isjcaluablc to it»
and worth J it*s notice ; thfiKgh at. the {ame time it is well for the hiftory of
\ chriftianity, that fuch reveries (hould never become the prevwling fyftcm of
' the church. After the pains that have been beftowed on this feä ecdefiafti-
cally, a pure philofophical inquiry, whence their notions were derived, what
was their intention, and what efft& they produced, would not be unprofitable
to the hiftory of the human underftanding*.
The do(flrines of Manes, whofe objeft was nothing lefs, than to be the founder
of a complete chriftianity, made farther progrefs. He perifhed; and his nu*
merous followers were fo perfecuted in all places, and at all times, that the name
of manichean, efpecially after Auftin had taken up the pen againft them, be-
came one of the moft terrible ftigmas of a heretic. We now (hudder at this
ecclefiaftical (pirit of perfecution, and perceive, that many of thefe herefiarchs
were men of refleAing and enterprising minds, who boldly attempted, not only
to combine religion, metaphyfics, morals, and natural philofophy, but to unite
them for the purpofe of an afkual fociety, a phäofophico-political reli^ous
orden Some of them were lovers of fcience, and are to be pitied for being de-
nied more ample knowledge by their fituation: the catholic party, however,
would have become a ftagnant pool, had not thefe wild winds fet it in motion,
and compelled them at leaft to defend their written tradition. The time of
pure reafon, and a political improvement of morals by it , was not yet arrived ;
and for the religious community of Manes there was no place, either in Perfia,
or Armenia, any more than afterwards among the bulgarians, or albigenfes.
Chriftian fefts penetrated into India, Thibet, and China, thou^ by ways
tliat remain obfcurc to us -f* : the (hock, however, that was given to the re-
moteft regions of Afiain the firft centuries of the chriftian era, is obfervablein
their own hiftories. The doftrine of Budda, or Fo, which is faid to have come
from BaAra, acquired frefh animation at this period. It fpread to Ceylon, Thi-
bet, and China : hindoo books on the fubjed were tranflated into the chinefc
• After Beaofobrc,Mofhciin,Bruckcr,Walch, ta thofe of Cftylus, St. Palayc« and othcn,
]tbloniki,Semler, and ochers, wemay nowtake kave been. This appears to ne the eafieil
a more clear and free view of the fabje^t. mode of drawing things worthy notice out of
f It is to be wUhed, that the efiiys by De the wildeme fs of a fociety« and of rendering the
Gaignes, in the writings of the french Acade* difcoveries of individuals D&fiil» as well as of
myof Infcriptions, werecolle^cd and tranflated «lucing them together.
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Cray, n.] Propagation ofChrißianity m the E^ß. 503
language, and the great fed of the bonzes was brought to perfedion. With«
out afcribing to chriftianity all the abominations of the bonzes, or the whole of
the monadic fyftem of the lamas and talapoins, it feems to have been the lea-
ven, which fet all the ancient reveries of the people from Egypt to China in
fermentation anew, and modified them more or lefs. Many fiibles of Budda»
Chrißinoo^ and the reft» appear to include cbriftian ideas enveloped m an indian
garb; and the great lama on the mountains, who probably arofe firft in the fif*
teenth century, is, with his perfonal fandity and rigid dodrines, his bells and re*
ligious orders, in all appearance a diftant coufin of the lama on the Tiber : the
difference is, there manicheifm and neftorianifm were grafted «n aiiatic- ideas
and manners^ here orthodox chriftianity was infer ted into a roman ftock. The
two coufins, however, would not readily recognize each other, fo little inter*
courfe has been kept up between them.
We have a clearer knowledge of the more learned neftorians, who fpread
thcmfelves far into Afia, particularly after the fifth century, and did much good*.
Almoft from the commencement of the chriftian era the fchool of Edeflä flou-
riflied as the feat of fyrian learning. King Abgarus, who has been held forth as
an epiftolary correfpondent of Chrift himfelf, when he removed his refidcnce
from Nifibis, tranfported to Edefia the coUedions of books, which were in the
temples. At this period, every one, who was defirous of becoming learned^ tra«
veiled to Edefla, from all parts of the World ; for befide chriftian theology,
the fine arts were taught there in the greek and fyrian languages, fo that Edcflk
was probably the firft chriftian univerfity ever eftablifhed. It flourilhed for four
centuries, till the profcflbrs were expelled on account of the dodrines of Nefto*
rius^ to which they adhered, and their fchool was demoliftied. But in confe*
quence of this the fyrian literature fpread not only into Mefopotamia, Paleftine,
Syria, and Phenicia, but even into Perfia; where it experienced an honourable
reception, and where at laft a. ncftorian pope arofe, who ruled over all the chrif-
tians in this kingdom, and afterwards over thofe of Arabia, India, Mungolia»
imd China.
Whether he were the celebrated prefter-john (prcs-tad/haniy the prieftof the
World), of whom many fabulous reports were Ipread in the middle ages; and
whether, from a Angular mixture of dodrines, the great lama at laft arofe from
him; we ftiall leave undecided «f. Suffice it, that in Perfia the favoured nefto-
. • Pfeifer*! JufzMg MisAJJimanni Oruntalifibtr f Fifdier, in the introdudioa to his Siheri-
Bibliothek, ' Abilraa of AfTemanni's Oriental /eben GefebUbte, ' Hiilory of Siberia/ S 38104
Biblioctaeca»' Erlang, 1776» is an nfeful work following, has r%''ndered this opinion vtry pro*
for this almoft unknown region of hiftory : a bable. Others are for the mg-kban, the khan
particular, conneaed hiftory of eallem chriften- of the keraites. See Koch's Table Jet Revelm»
dom, and of ncftorianifa crpedally, U ftill a //0«/«'Tibl« of RcvglutioBi/ Vol. ]« p. 26$.
4cfideratoiii»
-,v<_
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504 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVH.
nans were employed by it's monarchs a« phyficians to the body, ambaffadors, and
minifters; thechriftian wriiings were trxnflatcd into the perfianj and thefyriac
became the Icaraed language of the country. When the empire of Moham-
med gained the fway, pa»ticular!y ii.idor his fucccflbrs the Ommiadcs, neftorians
filled the higheft pofts of honour, aud were made viceroys of the conquered pro-
vinces ; and when the khalifs rtliticd at Bagdad, as well as after they had re-
moved their refidence to Samarraja, the patriarch of the neftorians (bared their
authority. Under Al-Mamon, who encouraged learning among his people, and
appointed phyficians and aftronomers, philofophers, naturalifts, mathemati<»
cians, geographers, and annalifts, to teach in the academy of Bagdad, the fyriags
were aflbciates and inftmftors of the arabs. They rivailed each other in tnuif-
lating into arable the works of the greeks, many of which had already been
tranflated into that language : and if the light of fcience aftei-wards dawned on
benighted Europe from the ai-abic» the fyriac chriftians originally contributed to
this. Their language, the firft of the oriental dialers in this region into which
vowels were admitted, and which can hoail the mod ancient and elegant tranf-
lation of the New Teftament, was the bridge of grecian fcience for Afia, and
through the arabs for Europe. Under fuch favourable circumflances, neftorian
miffions then extended themfelvcs fer and wide; though other chriftian fedls
found means to fupprefs them, or chace them away. Under the family of
Gengis-khan, too, they were of confiderable importance : their patriarch frc#
quently accompanied the khan on his expeditions, and thus their dodlrines were
fpread among the mungals, igurians, and other tatar nations. Samarcand was
the feat of a metropolitan ; Caßigar, and other cities, of bifliops : and if the ce-
lebrated chriftian monument in China be genuine, there is to be found on it a
complete chronicle of the immigration of the prlefts from Tatfm. If with thb
be confidered, that the whole of the mohammedan religion, fuch as it is, would
never have arifcn, had it not been preceded by chriftianity, we find in this, be-
yond all difpute, a leaven, which, more or lefs, fooiier or later, fet in commotion
the way of thinking of all the fouth and part of the north of Afia.
Brom this commotion, however, no new and peculiar bloflbm of the human
inte!.ie(fl, as perhaps with the greeks and romans, was to be expcfted. The nef-
torians, by whom fo much was effedled, were not a nation, were not a race
growing np of itfelf in a maternal foil: they were chriftians, they were monks.
Their language, indeed, they were capable of teaching: but what could they
write in it ? Liturgies, expofitionsof Scripture, monaftic books of devotion,
fermons, polemical works, chronicles, and infipid verfcs. HcnccinOhcJ^ac-
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Chap« U .] Propagation of Chrißianity in the Eaß. 505
chriftian literature there is. not a fpark of that poetic genius, which burfts from
tlirtoul, and warms the Jieart : 9 miferable knack at verfifying catalogues of
names, homilies, and chronicles» conftituted the whole of their art of poetry.
In none of the fciences they cultivated did they difplay the leaft^lpirit of inven-
tion^in none did they purfue any method of their own. A melancholy proof
how little was done by the afcetico-polemic monachal fpirit, with all it's politic
cunning. In this barren form it difplayed itfelf in every quarter of the Globe,
and ftili lords it on the mountains of Thibet ; where not the leaft trace of free
inventive genius is to be difcovered, throughout the legally eftabliftied monkiQi
conftitution. Whatever proceeds from the cloifter is, for the mofl: part, adapt-
ed only to the convent.
Hiftory,then, need not expatiate long on the particular provinces of chriftian
Afia. Chriflianity reached Armenia at an early period, and bellowed on it's
ancient memorable language an alphabet, with a double and triple verfion of the
Scriptures, and an armenian hiftory. But neither Mifrob with his alphabet,
nor his fcholar, Mofes of Chorene *, with his hiftory, could confer on their peo-
ple literature, or a national conftitution. Armenia always lay in the way of
other nations : as it had been formerly under perfians, greeks, and romans, it
now fell under arabs, turks, tatars, and curdes. It's inhabitants ftill purfue their
ancient occupation, trade: a fcientific or political edifice could never have been
cflabliflied in this place, with or without chriftianity.
The ftate of chriftian Georgia is ftill more wretched. There are churches
and convents, patriarchs, bifliops, and monks : the women are beautiful ; the
men, brave : yet the parent will fell his child ; the huft>and, his wife; the prince,
his fubjefts j the devotee, his prieft. A fingular fort of chriftianity, among this
gay and faithlefs nation of robbers.
The Gofpel was eariy tranflated into Arabic, alfo; and many chriftian fefts
have taken great pains about the fine country of Arabia. In it jews and chrif-
tians often perfecuted each other; but neither party, though each occafionally
produced even kings, efied cd any thing of importance. Every thing fell before
Mohammed; and now, indeed, there is not a chriftian community in Arabia,
though there are whole tribes of jews. Three religions, defendants of one an-
other, guard with mutual hatred the fandtuary of their birth place, the de-
ferts of Arabia -f.
• Whifton's preface to Moßs Cherenßs Hiß. markable hiftory of the chriftianity of thcfc rc-
Jrmen, 1736: Schrcedcr's Tbe/kur, Ling, Ar- gions: whether, on the whole, any newconcla«
wun, Diß p. 62. fioQs may be derived from ic, time will (how.
f Brace's Travels into Abyflinia give a re-
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5o6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVD.
If we would now take a view of the general refult of the effcAs, pioduoed by
chriitianity in it's afiatic provinces ; we m\ift fiift agree on the point of view» in
which the advantages» that this, or any religion» could confer on one quarter
of the Globe, ought to be placed.
1 . Chriftianity may have fecretly operated to the furthering of tf Jkeavenfy khtg-
dorn upon Earthy that is, a more perfect order of things, for the good of nations :
but the flower of this operation, a perfeft ftate, it has never produced, either in
Afia, or in Europe. Arabs and fyrians, perfians and annenians, hindoos and
dni{es, have remained what they were \ and no political conilitution in that coun*
try can boaft of it*s being the offspring of chriftianity ; even if anchoritifm and
monaftic devotion, or a hierarchy of any kind, with their reftlefs endeavoun, be
taken as the ftandard of a chriftian ftate. Patriarchs and bi(hops (end jnif-
fionaries round to extend their feds, their diocefes, thdr power: they feek the
favour of princes, to obtain influence in affairs, or convent! and communities:
one party ftrives againft another, and endeavours to obtam the fuperiority. Thus
jews and chriftians, neftorians and monophyiites, hunt each other round ; and
no party thinks of ading funply and freely for the good of any place or countiy.
The cleigy of the eaft, who were never without a fpice kä monkery, woxild ferve
God, and not mankind.
2. There are three methods of ading upon men ; by teachings mithority^ and
religious ceremonies. Teaching is the fimpleft, and moft effedual, if it be of the
right kind. Infbrudion of the young and of the old, when it relates to the
effential concerns and duties of man, cannot £ul to introduce, or keep in circu-
lation, much ufeful knowledge : the fiune and preeminence of having rendered
fuch more clear even to the lower people pertain exduiively to chriftianity in
many countries. Catechifms, fermons, hymns, creeds, and prayers, have diffufed
a knowledge of God, and of morals, among the people : tranflations and expo-
fitions of the holy Scriptures have imparted to them writing and litenituxe : and
where nations were ftill in fuch infancy, that they were incapable of compre-
hending any thing but fables, there at leaft a facred fable revived. Herein, it
is obvious, every thing depended upon this, whether the man, who was to
teach, were capable of teachbg, and what he taught. In both thefe points,
however, the anfwer muft vary fo much, according to the perfon, the people,
the time, and the country, that at laft we muft confine ourfelves to what was
to be taught, to what the prevsuling ohurch maintained. Fearing the mcapacity
and boldnefs of many of it's teachers, it preferred brevity, and confined itfelf
within a narrow circle. It thus, we muft allow, incurred the danger of havix^^
tlie fubftance of it's dodrines veiy foon exhaufted, and reduced to repetition ;
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Chap. IL] Propagation of Chrißsanity in the Eaß. 507
fo that in a few generations the hereditary religion would lofe all the luftre of
novelty, and the dull teacher would flumbcr over his antiquated creed. Thus,
for the moft part, the firft (hock of chriftian miffions alone was truly vivid ;
foon one dull wave drove on a duller, till at lafl: all gently fubfided in the ftill
furface of an accuftomed ancient chriftian ceremony. By ceremonies compen-
fation was endeavoured to be made for the decay of the foul of ceremony,
doärine; and thus the ceremonial fyllcm was invented, which at length be-
came an inanimate puppet, (landing immoveable and unmoved in ancient pomp.
The puppet was invented for the convenience both of teacher and hearer; for
it afforded them both food for refleftion, if they chofe to xeSitGt ; and if not,
ftill, it was (aid, the vehicle of religion would not be loft. And as from the be-
ginning the church was very tenacious of unanimity, formularies by which the
herd would be leaft diftradled were abfdutely the beft for preferving dull
uniformity. The churches of Afia afford the completcft demonftration of all
this : they ftill are, what they were almoft two thou(and years ago, flumbering
bodies, dcftitute of mind : even hcrefy is extinft in them, for they pofFiCs not
fufficient energy for herefies.
PoflSbly, however, the authority of the priefts may fupply, what is loft by the
torpor of the doftrine, or the cefTation of impulfe ? In fome mcafureit may, but
not altogether. A facred perfon full of years is furrounded with the mild beams
of paternal experience, mature judgement, and tranquillity undifturbed by the
pafTions : hence it is fo many travellers fpeak of the reverence, with which they
were infpired in the prefence of the aged patriarchs, priefts, and bifhops of the
caft. A noble (implicity in their carriage, drefs, conduft, and way of life,
contributes much to this : and many a worthy anchorite, if he keep not his
inftruftions, warnings, and confolations from the World, may have done more
good, than a hundred idle preachers amid the buftle of highways and markets.
Inftruftion, however, is the nobleft fource of authority, united with example
founded on knowledge and experience ; if (liortfightednefs and prejudice ftep
into the feat of truth, the authority of the moft refpedlable perfon is dangerous
and detrimental.
3. As the life of man is altogether calculated for the adlive purpofes of general
fociety ; it is evident, that, in chriftianity alfo, every thing muft foon or late
die away, that counterafts thefe. Every lifelefs member is dead ; and as foon
as the living body is fenlible of it's own life, and the ufelefs burden of the dead
member, this member is removed. As long as the mifllions in Afia retained
their aftivity, they imparted and received animation : but when the temporal
power of the arabs, turks, and tatars, deftroyed this, they fpread no farther.
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5o8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooicXVII.
Their convents and cpifcopal fees Hand as ruins of ancient times, melancholy
and confined : many are tolerated only for the fake of their prefcnts, tributes,
and abjeft fervices.
4. As chriftianity operates chiefly by means of it's dodkrines, much depends
on the language^ in which they are inculcated, and on the degree of mental cul-
tivation already contained in them, to which it orthodoxly adheres. With a
cultivated or univerfal language it not only propagates itfelf, but it acquires by
means of it improvement and refpeft : but if, as a facred dialedt of divine origin,
it remain behind other living languages, or be reftrifted to the limits of an ob-
folete, rude paternal dialeft, as to a decayed palace ^ it muft in time be reduced
to drag on a wearifome life in it, as a wretched tyrant, or an ignorant prifoner.
As in Afia the greek language, and afterwards the fyriac, were overpowered by
the viftorious arabic, the knowledge they contained was thrown out of circula-
tion : they could only propagate themfelves as liturgies, as creeds, as a monkifli
theology. We ai^ miftaken, therefore, when we attribute to the fubftance of
a religion, what properly pertains only to the inftruments, with which it ope-
rates. Look at the St. Thomas's chriftians in India, the georgians, the arme-
nians, the abyflinians, the copts : what are they ? what has chriftianity made of
them ? The copts and abyffinians poflTefs libraries of ancient books, unintelligible
to themfelves, but which might probably be of ufe m the hands of europeans :
they ufe;them not \ they cannot ufe them. Their chriftianity has funk into the
moft wretched fuperftition.
5. Here, then, it is incumbent upon me, to beftow on the greek language that
praife, which it fo eminently merits in the hiftory of mankind j for by it's
aid all the light has been kindled, that has illumined or beamed upon Europe.
Had not this language been fo widely extended, and fo long preferved, by the
conquefts of Alexander, the kingdoms of his fucceflTors, and the roman poflcf-
fions, chriftianity would fcarcely have contributed in the leaft to enlighten Afia :
for both the orthodox and the heretic kindled their true or falfe lights, mediately
or immediately, at the grecian language. From it, too, the armenian, fyriac,
and arabic languages derived their illumining fpark : and had the firft chriftiaa
writings been compofed not in greek, but in the hebrew dialed of that timej
could not the Gofpel have been preached and propagated in greek \ the ftrearo,
that now waters nations, would probably have been choked near it's fountain.
The chriftians would have been, what the cbionites were, and perhaps the St.
John's and St. Thomas's chriftians are, a poor defpifed multitude, deftitute of
all efTedl: on the fpirit of nations. Let us, therefore, quit it's oriental birthplace»
for that ftage on which it aded a greater part.
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[ 5^9 1
CHAPTER nr.
Progrefs of Chrißianity in the Grecian Countries,
W E obfervcd, that helienifm^ or a freer mannner of thinking of the jews inter-
mixed with the ideas of others, prepared the way for the rife of chriftianity :
accordingly chriftianity, when it began it's courfe, proceeded far on this way ;
and in a fhort time extenfive regions, where any helleniftic jews refided, were
filled with the new miffion. The appellation of chriftians was firft ghven in a
grecian city : the firft writings of chriftianity were moft extenfively circulated in
the grecian language ; for this language was more or lefs diffufed from Indi« to
the Atlantic, from Lybia to Thule. It may be confidered both as fortunate and
unfortunate, that Judca was particularly near to a province, which contributed
much to the firft form of chriftianity, the province of Egypt. If Jerufalcm
were it's cradle, Alexandria was it's fchool.
Since the time of the Ptolemies a number of jews had refided for the fake of
trade in Egypt, where they endeavoured to create a Judea of their own, built a
temple, tranilated their facred writings one after another into greek, and aug*
mented their number. There had been very flourifliing cftabliöimcnts for the
promotion of fcience alfo at Alexandria, fince the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus ;
fuch as were to be found nowhere elfe, even Athens not excepted. Fourteen
thoufand fcholars had been lodged and maintained there for a confiderable time
at the public cxpenfe : here were the celebrated mufeum, the immenfe library,
the works that conferred renown on ancient poets and learned men of every
kind : thus the great fchool of natioAs was here, in the centre of the commerce
of the World. From this conflux of nations, and the gradual amalgamation of
the fentiments of all in the greek and roman empire, arofe the modern p/atonic
philofophyy as it was called, and particularly that fingular^Äfr^/^, which fought
to unite the principles of all parties, and in a ftiort time afllmilated the ideas of
indians, perfians,jews, ethiopians, egyptians, greeks, romans, and barbarians.
This fpirit prevailed wonderfully in the roman empire, as every where philofo-
phers fprung up, who added the notions of their own native places to the general
maß : but Alexandria was the fpot where it moft eminently flouriflied. Into
this ocean the drop of chriftianity was caft, and attraäcd to itfelf whatever it
fuppofcd itfelf capable of aflimilating. Platonic notions had already been
introduccdjnto chriftianity m the writings of Paul and John : the moft ancient
fathers of the church, when they entered upon philofophy, were obliged to
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5IO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVH.
employ the generally received modes of expreffion, and fomc of them found their
Logosy for example, long before the exiftence of chriftianity, in the foul of every
philofophcr. Probably it would not have, been to 4jcl r^retted^.hai the. (yftcm
of chriftianity remained, what, according to the reprefentations of a Juftin mar-
tyr, Clement of Alexandria, and others, it was intended to be, a liberal philo-
Tophy, reprobating virtue ari^ the love of truth at no tim^, and among no
people, and yet unacquainted with exclufive verbal formularies, which after-
wards obtained the force of laws. It is certain» the earlier &thers of the church,
who were formed in Alexandria, were not the worft : Origen alone did more than
ten thoufand bifhops and patriarchs; fince, but for tlie learned critical induftry,
which he employed on the records of chriftianity, this would have almoft funk,
with regard to it's origin, among unclafSc &bles. His fpirit was tranfmitted
to fome of his fcholars aUb ; and many Withers of the alexandriaa fchool thoi^ht
and argued at leaft with more addrels and refinement, than many other ignorant
and &natic heads.
It muft be confefled, however, that Egypt, with the philofophy then in bShion^
was alfo a fchool of corruption for chriftianity : for every thii^, that, during a
period of near two thoufand years, has excited diiputes, quarrels, tumults,
perfecutions, and the difturbance of whole nations, arofe from thefe foreign
platonic notions, on which men refined with grecian fubtilty, and which gave
chriftianity in genera) Üx&tßphißUal form, fo dijforcpant fromjtVna|ure. From
the (ingle word logos arofe hereiies and a£ts of violence, at which the logos within
us, found reafon, yet (hudders. Many of thefe di(putes were capable of beiqg
carried on in the grecian language alone ; to which they Ihould have been for
ever confined, and never have been introduced as doärinal formularies into
others. They include no truth, no information, that has afforded an addition
to human knowledge, new power to the underftanding, or a noble motive to
the will : the whole body of chriftian polemics, carried on againft arians, photi-
nians, macedonians, neftorians, eutychians, monophyfites, tritheites, mono-
thelites, and the reft, might have been inftantly crulhed, without the Icaft
detriment to chriftianity, or human reafon. Men were obliged to overlook
and forget them altogether, with their confequencds, thofe grofs decrees
of fo many councils of courtiers and robbers, before tbey >Could again
contemplate the original records of chriftianity in their primitive purity,
and arrive at an open, fimple expofition of them : nay, they ftill obftrud and
afflift many timorous minds, or fuch as are perfecuted on account of them.
The fpeculative fpirit of thefe feds refembles the lernean hydra, or the
polypus, which cut in pieces forms a new aniaial from every limb. This ufdefs
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Chap. III.] Progrefs of Chrtßiamty in the Grecian Coimtries. 51 1
tiflue, injurious to mankind, runs through many ages of hiftory : rivers of blood
have been fhed upon it ; and innumerable multitudes» often of the worthieft
men, have been deprived of property and honour, of friends, of home, and of
reft, of health and life, by the moft ignorant villains. Even honeft barbaiians,
burgundians, goths, lombards, franks, and (axons, in pious orthodoxy have
taken part in thcfe maffacres, with ardent feftarian zeal, for or againft arians, bo-
gomilians, catharians, albigenfes, waldenfes, &c.; and, a true church militant,
have drawn their fwords as warriors, not idly, for the genuine baptifmalform.
There is not, perhaps, a more barren field within the domains of literature»
than the hiftory of this chriftian exercifeofthe word and the fword; which (b
deprived the human mind of it's proper faculty of thinking, the records of chrif-
tianity of their evident purpofe, and civil fociety of it's fundamental principles
and rules » that at laft we are reduced, to thank other barbarians and faracens«
for having deftroyed by their wild irruptions the difgrace of the human intel-
led« Thanks to all thofe men*, who have exhibited to us in their true forms
the movers of fuch difputes, an Athanafius, a Cyril, aTheophilus, a Confluntine,
and an Irenseus : for as long as the names of the fathers of the church and their
coimcilsare quoted with flavifh refpedt, we are mafters neither of Scripture, nor
of our own underftanding.
Chriftian morality, likewife, foimd not a more favourable foil in Egypt, or
other parts of the greek empire : there wretched abufc created that vaft army
of cenobites and monks, who, not fatisfied with mental extafies in the deferts of
the Thebaid, frequently traverfed countries as mercenary foldiers, interfered in
eleftions of bifhops, difturbed councils, and compelled their holy fpirit to pro-
nouncc, whatever the unholy fpirit of thefc mifcreants thought proper. I ho-
nour Solitude, the meditatmg lifter of Society, and often her legiflator, who
converts the experience of aAive life into principles, and it's paflions into nu-
tritious juices. Compaffion is due likewife to that confoling folitude,
which, weary of the yoke of other men, and tired of their pcrfccutions, finds a
balm in the heaven .within. Many of the firft chriftians unqueftionably were
folitariesof the latter kind, whom the tyranny of a great military empire, or the
abonunations of towns, drove into the defert, where, having few wants, a tem-
perate climate g^ve them a friendly reception. The more, however, let us
* After the Ubovs of the reformers, with by Spittler, with penetrating eye, and luminoiii
thofe of a Calixtns, Dalbens, Du Pin, Le Clerc, ftyle : others will focceed % and tycty period of
Moflieim, and othen, the name of Semler will ecdefiaftical hiftory will be exhibited in it's true
ever remain highly refpeded for a libera] view light*
•f ccdefiaikical hiftory. He hai been followed
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512 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVH.
defpife that proud, felfifh retirement, which, contemning aftive life, places
merit in contemplation anJ penance, nourilhes itfelf with phantoms, and, inftead
of annihilating the paflions, cheriQies within the wildeft of all, felüfli, immo-
derate pride.
Unfortunately, for this chriftianity became a dazzling pretext, when fuch of
it's precepts, as were intended for a particular few, were converted into general
laws, or indeed conditions for obtaining the kingdom of Heaven, and Chrift was
fought in the defert. There Heaven was to be found by men, who difdained
being citizens of the Earth, and rclinquiflied the moft eftimable gifts of human-
kind, reafon, morality, talents, friendlhip, and parental, nuptial, and filial
affeftion. Accurfed be the praife, that men, from mifconception of Scripture,
have often fo abundantly and imprudently beftowed on an idle, contemplative
life of celibacy : accurfed the falfe impreiBons, that have been ftampcd on youth
with enthufiaftic eloquence, thus crippling and diftorting the human intelleft
for ages. Whence is it, that we find in tlic writings of the fathers fo little pure
morality : and often good and bad, gold and drofs, jumbled together* ? Whence
is it, that we cannot mention a fingle book of thofe times, even of the moft
excellent men, who had ftill fo many greek authors at their command, which,
putting ftyle and compofition entirely out of the queftion, but merely in rcfpeft
to moi-ality and it's general fpirit, deferves to be placed by the fide of a fingle
work of the focratic fchool f Whence is it, that even the feleft maxims of tfcc
fathers have fo much of extravagance and monkery in them, when compared
with the morals of the greeks? Men's minds were deranged by the new philofo-
phy, which taught them to wander in the aerial regions, inftead of living upon
Earth : and as there can be no difeafe of greater magnitude than this, it is a
misfortune much to be deplored, that it was propagated by dodlrines, authority,
and inftitutions, and rendered the fountains of pure morality turbid for
ages.
When at length chriftianity was exalted,and the imperial ftandard gave it that
name, with which, as the paramount religion of the roman empire, it ftill flics
above all other names upon Earth i the impurity at once became evident, which
fo fingularly mixed the affairs of the church and the ftate, that fcarcely any thing
could be viewed in it's proper fliape. While preachii^ toleration, they» who
had long fuffered, became themfelves intolerant: and as duties toward the ftate
were confounded with the pure relations of man to God, while a fcmi-jewilh
• Barbeyrac, Le Clcrc, Thomafias, Semler, thers of the Church/ exhibits it in a very po*
and others, have fliown this ; Rcefler's Biblis pular manner*
iM dn Kirchenvater, * B ibliotheca of the Fa-
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Chap. III.] Progreß of Chrißiaftity in tie GrecioH Countries. 51 j
monkifh religion was unconfcioufly made the bafe of a chriftian byzantine em-
pire ; how could it be otherwife, than that the tnie affinity between crimes and
punilhments» rights and duties, and indeed between the members of the con«
iUtution itfelf, muft have been bafely deftroyed i The faceidotal order was in-
troduced into the ftate; not, as among the romans, to cooperate inunediately
with it's other members ; but as a monadic and mendicant order» for the benefit
of which a hundred ordinances were made» burdenfome to the reft, inconfiftent
with themfelves, and obliged to be repeatedly altered, in order that the form of
a ftate might remain. To the great yet weak Conftantine we axe indebted,
without his knowing it, for that two headed monfter, which, under the name
of the fpiritual and temporal power, cajoled or tyranmfed over itfelf and others,
and after twice ten centuries has fcarcely come to a peaceable agreement on the
purpofes, which religion and government have to fulfil among mankind. To
him we are indebted for that pious imperial arbitrarinefs in the laws, and with
it that chriftian-princelike unkingly pliability, from which the mod fearful de-
fpotifm could not feil in a fliort time to arife*. Hence the vices and barbarities
in the horrible byzantine hiftory : hence the venal incenfc offered to thevileft
chriftian emperors: hence the miferable perplexity, in which fpiritual and tempo-
ral affairs, heretics and orthodox believers, romans and barbarians, eunuchs and
generals, women and priefts, emperors and patriarchs, are embroiled. The empire
was thrown from it's centre : the foundering, difmafted (hip loft it'sfteerfman;
whoever could feizc the helm managed it, till another drove him away. Ye an-
cient romans, Sextus, Cato, Cicero, Brutus, Titus, Antonine, what would ye have
faid of this new Rome, the imperial court at Conftantino^de, from it's com-
mencement to it^s downfal.^
The eloquence, too, which this imperial chriftian Rome was capable of pro-
ducing, could nowife be compared with that of the ancient greeks and romans.
Divine men, indeed^ here exercifed their elocution; patriarchs, bifhops, and
priefts : but to whom did they addrefs themfelves ? on what did they difcourfc?
and what fruits could .their higheft eloquence produce ? They had to explain to a
ftupid, depraved, ungovernable multitude, the kingdom of God, the refined
maxims of a moralift, who ftood alone in his day, and who certainly had no-
thing congenial with this mob. Far more attraftive for it was it to hear the fpi-r
ritual orator declaim on the depravity of the court, or the grofs luxury of the
• The Hiftory of Changes in the Government, writer« is executed with great induftr y and acute-
Laws, and Minds of Men, during the period from nefs« A germaB tramlacion appeared at Leipfic
the converfion of Conftantine to the downfal in 1794.
of the weftem empire, by an anonymous french
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514 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVn.
tbeatfei, public games, atnufemcnts>and female drefs» or take part in the cabals
of heretics, bifhops, priefts, and monks. Goldcntongued Chryfoftom, how do
I lament, that thy exuberant eloquence fell not on better times ! That foli-
tude, the companion of thy better days, was left for a fplcndid metropolis»
which embittered thy life. Thy paftoral zeal had wandered out of it's limits :
the ftorms of courtly and prieftly cabals overwhelmed thee: expelled,
and again reftored, thou waft reduced at laft, to end thy days in poverty.
Such was the fate of many worthy men in tliis voluptuous court : and,
what was worfe, their zeal itfelf was not witliout faults. As he, who, fuiroundcd
by infedious difeafes, inhales the contaminated air, if he efcape the peftilence,
will at leaft difplay it's efTeds in his pallid countenance and languid Ihnbs : fo
here too many dangers and fedu&ions arofe on every fide, for common pru-
dence to avoid. The greater fame, however, is due to the fmall number of
thofe, who, in the charafter of generals and emperors, or bifhops, patriarchs, and
courtiers, ihine like fcattered flars in this obfcure üilphureous iky: but even
thek forms are hidden firom us by the clouds«
Laflly> if we contemplate the tafte in arts, fcience, and manners, that fpread
from this firft and greateft chriftian empire, we can call it nothing elfe than
^'retched, and barbaroufly pompous. After that Jupiter and Chrift contended
in the fenate, in the time of Theodofius, before the face of the goddefs of
Vidlory, for the poffeffion of the roman empire, and Jupiter loft the day ; the
great monuments of ancient tafte, the temples and images of the gods, were
ruined gradually or forcibly throu^out the World : and the more chriftian a
coimtry was, the more zealous was it indeftroying all remains of the worQiipof
the ancient demons. The origin and objeft of chriftian churches forbad the
crefkion of fuch edifices as the former temples of idols: accordingly courts of
juftice, and places for holding afiemblies, bafilicse, were their models s and
though a noble fimplicity may be obfenred in the moft ancient of them, of the
time of Conftantine, as they were in part compofed of heathen fragments, and
partly conflrudted amid the greateft monuments of art, yet even this fimpli-
city is chriftian. The ftolen columns were jumbled together v^ithout tafle j
and the wonder of chriftian art in Conflantinople, the magnificent church of
St. Sophia, was loaded with barbarian ornament. Abundant as were the
treafures of antiquity heaped together in this Babel, it was impoifible for gre-
cian art, or grecian poetry, to flourifh in it. We. are aftoniflied at the train,
which, even in the tenth century» was obliged to attend the emperor, in war
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CHAf . III.] Progrefs of Chrifiianity in thi Grecian CouHtnes. ^ijf
and peace» at home and at public worfliip, as defcribed by a purplebom flave
of it himfelf * ; and wonder, that fuch a kingdom ftood fo long.
This cannot be charged to the abufe of cfariftianity; for Byzantium was
formed from the beginning for a fplendid» diflblute, beggarly date. From it
could fpring no Rome, which, rifing amid oppreffions, contefts, and dangers,
rendered itfelf the metropolis of the World : the new city was ereded at the
expenfe of Rome and the provinces, and immediately burdened with a mob,
who lived in idlenefs and hypocrify, by right of title or of flattery, on the
beneficence and favour of the emperor; in other words, on the marrow of the
empire. The new city lay in the lap of pleafure, in a delightful climate, in the
centre of three quarter» of the Globe. From Afia, Perfia, India, and Egypt,
file drew all the commcdities of that diflblute pomp, which (he cheri(hed in
berfelf, and diffufed over the northweftem world. Her harbour was filled with
ihips of all nations; and even in later times, when the arabs had deprived the
grecian empire of Egypt and Afia, the commerce of the World took the road of
the Cafpian and Euxine feas, to fu^ply the wants of ancient voluptuaries. Alex-
andria, Smyrna, Antioch j the (hores of Greece abounding in harbours, with
it's eftablifiiments, cities, and arts^; the Mediterranean with it's numerous
iilands ; and ftiU more the volatile character of the greek nation ^ all contributed,
to render the feat of the chriftian emperor a receptacle of vices and follies : and
what formerly promoted the welfare of Greece, now operated to it's detriment.
We will not on this account, however, detraft from the fmalleft benefit, which
this empire, fo fituate, and fo conftituted, has conferred on the World. It was
long a mound, though a weak one, againft the barbarians ; nuny of whom
loft their rudenefs from it's neighbourhood, it's trade, or in it's lervice, and
acquired a tafte for the arts, and refinement of manners. The beft king of the
goths, Theodoric, was educated in Conftantinople : and we may thank the
eaftern empire, for all the good he did to Italy. From Conftantinople more
than one barbarian people received the feeds of civilization, letters, and chrif-
tianity : thus bifliop Ulphilas modified the greek alphabet for his goths on the
Black fea, and tranflated the New Teftament into their language : the ruflSans,
bulgarians, and other flavifli nations, acquired letters, chriftianity, and morals,
from Conftantinople, in a far milder way, than their weftcrn brethren obtained
them from the franks and faxons. The collcftion of roman laws, made by
order of Juftinian, defediiveand mangled as it is, remains an immortal record of
the genuine ancient roman fpirit, a logic of the aftive intcUeft, and a teft for
^ ConfUntine Porphyrogenitns» Book U» A Qtnmmüt AmIw Byn/imiinm^ * Of the Cercinonict of
the Byzantine Court/ Leipfic, I75i.
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5i6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooxXVn.
every better code» It was a benefit to the whole civilized World, that the
grecian language and literature were preferved in this empire, however defedtive
the ufe that was made of them, till weftern Europe was capable of receiving
them from the hands of byzantine refugees. That the pilgrims and croifaders
of the middle ages found on their road to the holy fepulchre a Conflantinople,
whence they returned to their caves, their caflles, and their cloifters, with manj
new ideas of fplendour, civilization, and manners, in compenfation for much
treacherous conduct, at lead: remotely prepared other times for the weft of
Europe. The Venetians and genoefe learned their extenfive commerce in Alex
andria and Conftantinople, as they acquired their wealth chiefly 6x>m the ruins
of this empire, and thence imported much that was uiefiil into Europe. The
iilk manufa£ture came to us from Perfia through Conftantinople : and for how
much is the holy fee, for how much Europe, as a counterpoife to that fee,
indebted to the eaftern empire !
At length this proud, this wealthy, this magnificent Babylon fell : with all
it's treafures, and all it's fplendour, it fell by ftorm into the hands of it's favage
conquerors. It had long been unable to protedt it's provinces : all Greece bad
been a prey to Alaric fo early as the fifth centur}^ Eaft, weft, north, and
fouth,. the barbarians prefled on it, from time to time, dofer and clolcr ; and
bands of ftill greater barbarians often n^ed in the city. Temples were ftormed ;
Aatues and libraries were given to the flames : the empire was every where fold
and betrayed, as it had no better rewards for it's moft faithful fervants, than
to put out their eyes, cut off their nofes and ears, or bdeed bury them alive:
for barbarity and voluptuoufhefs, flattery and the moft infolent arrogance,
revolt and perfidy, reigned on this throne, all decorated with chriftian ortho-
doxy. It's hiftory, filled with lingering death, is a terrible monitory example
for every government of eunuchs, priefts, and women, in fpite of all it's imperial
pride and wealth, in fpite of aU it's pomp in arts and fcience. There lie it's
ruins i the moft ingenious people upon Earth, the greeks, are become the moft
defpicable, perfidious, ignorant, fuperftitious, wretched flaves of priefts and
monks, fcarcely again fufccptible of the ancient grecian fpirit. Thus ended
the firft and moft m^LgniüctntJlatC'fAriJianüy: may never fuch appear again * !
• With htartfelt pleiAire we can here ciu the hurry us along. The cry that has been raiied
third claifical britiih hiHorian, the rival of Hume, in Engbnd, however, againft this learned and
and of Robertfon, whom ibmetimes perhaps he truly philofophical work, as if the author were
excels, Gibbon; whofe Hiftory of the Decline an enemy to the chriHian religion. Teems to me
and Fall of the Roman Empire is a finiflied maf. wijuft : for Gibbon has fpoken of chriftianity, u
terpiece ; though it feemi to want, probably of other matten in hu hiftory, with great mild-
horn the fault of the fubjeA, that powerfiil charm neu«
pf intereft, with which Hume's luftoiical worki
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r sty 1
CHAPTER IV.
Proprefs of Ckriftianity in the Latin Provinces.
R OME was the metropolis of the Wwld : from Rome iffued the command, to
tolerate, or to fupprefs the chriftians : of neceflity, therefore, it muft very early
have been one of the principal endeavours of the general body of chriftians, to
influence this centre of grandeur and of power.
The tolerance of the romans towards all the reli^ons of the people they con«
quered is beyond difpute : but for this, and the general ftate of the roman
government at that period, chriftianity would not have fpread fo quickly, and fo
widely. It arofe in a remote quarter, among a people defpifed, and become pro-
verbial for fuperftition : wicked, fooliih, and weak emperors fat on the roman
throne, fo that the control of one allfceing eye was wanting to the ftate. The
chriftians were long comprehended under the name of jews, of whom there was
a great number at Rome, as well as in all the roman provinces. Probably,
therefore, it was the hatred of the jews themfelves, that firft made the rejeded
chriftians known to the romans ; who, confidering them as feceders from the
fdig^on of their forefathers, were led to think them either atheifts, or, from their
iecret aflemblies, egyptians, debafing themfelves, like other myftagogues, by
fuperftition and barbarity. They were looked upon as a reprobate mob, on
whom Nero firft laid the blame of his incendiary madnefs : the compafSon,
that was felt for them on account of this extreme injuftice, feems to have been
nothing more than the pity beftowed oa a flave tortured without caufe. No
£uther notice was taken of their doArines ; and they were permitted to propa-
gate them, as all others might be propagated in the roman empire.
As the principles of their faith and worfhip came more to light, it was par-
ticularly difpleafing to the romans, who were accuftomed only to a political
leligion, that thefe wretdies (hould infult the gods of the ftate as demons of
Hell, and dare to call the worfliip paid to the protedlors of the empire a fchool
of the Devil. They were difpleafed, too, that the chriftians refrifed to the
images of the emperor that veneration, which they fliould have thought an
honour to themfelves to pay, and at the fame time refrained from all the duties
and worfhip of the country. In confequence they were deemed it's enemies,
and deferving of the hatred and abhorrence of other men. According to the
difpofitions of the emperors, and as they were foftened or irritated by frefli
reports, injunftions were iflued for or againft the chriftians : and thefe injunc-
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Si8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoorXVIL
tions were executed more or lefs ftridly in each province, fuitably to the
fentiments of the governor, or their own condu£t. Such perfecuticms, how«
ever» as were carried on in later times, for inftance, againft the (axons, albi*
genfes, vaudois, huguenots, pruffians, and livonians, they never experienced:
religious wars of fuch a kind were not confiftent with the roman way of think-
ing. Thus the firft three centuries of chriftianity, diiring the perfecutions enu-
merated in them, were the triumphal times of the martyrs of the chriftian ^ith.
Nothing can be more noble, than for a man, remaining true to the (entimenä
he has embraced from conviftion^ to hold them £ift with innocence of mannen
and integrity of conduct to his laft breath. Accordingly the chriftians, where
as intelligent and good men they diiplayed fuch innocence-and firmnefs, gabed
thereby more followers, than by tales of miraculous gifts and micaculous events.
Many of their perfecutors were aftoniflied at their courage, even when they
could not comprehend, why they (hould expofe themfelves to the danger of
perfecution. Befides, a man attains only what he heartily wills : and what a
number of men ftedfaftly maintain in life and death, cannot eafily be fup*
prefled. Their zeal inflames : their example warms, even ifit do jiot enlighten.
Thus the church is unqueftionably indebted to the ftedfaftnefi of it*s adherents»
for that deep foundation of an edifice, capable of enduring with vaft enlarge-
ment for thoufands of yean : feeble mannen and yielding principles would
have fuffered the whole foon to evaporate, as an uncovered liquid is dU&pated
in the air.
In particular cafes, however, much depends on that, for which a man ftrug-
gles and dies. Ifit be for an internal convidVion, for a pledge of faith and truth»
the reward of which extends beyond the graven if it be for a teftimony of an
event of indifpenfable importance, which a man himfelf has feen, and the belief
of which, confided to him, would otherwife perifh ; the martyr dies like a hero,
his confcience ftrengthens him in pain and torment, and Heaven opens before
his eyes. Thus every cyewitnefs of the firft events of chriftianity could die,
when he found it neceffary for him, to fcal their truth with his blood. To deny
them, would have been to contradift fafts, which he himfelf had feen -, and every
man of probity would rather facrifice his life, in a cafe X)f necef&ty, than do
this. But fuch witnefTes, and fuch martyn, the cosnmencement only of chrif-
tianity couU have had i of thefe there could not be many ; and of their exit out
of the World, as well as of their lives, we know little or nothing.
The cafe was different with the witnefles, who bore teftimony centuries later,
or hundreds of miles diflant, to whom the liiftory of chriftianity came only as a
report, as tradition, or as a written account. Thefe c<nild not be admitted as
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Cff AF. IV.) Progre/s of Ckrißiatdty in the Latin Provincts^ 5x9
authentic witnefles, (tnce it was the teftimony of others, or rather their &ith
la it, which they fealed with their blood. Now as this was the cafe with all
the chriftiaii converts out of Judea j we cannot avoid wondering, that fo very
much was built, even in the remoteft, the latin provinces, on the teftimony of
the blood of thefe witneffes, confequently on a tradition, which they received
from far, and could not cafily prove. Even after the writings compofed in the
eaft had reached thefe remote regions at the end of the firil century, many did
not underftand them in the original, and were of courfe obliged to be fatisfied
with the teftimony of their teacher, and the citing of a tranflation. And how
feldom did the weftern teachers in general refer to the Scripture, while the ori-
entals, even in their councils, determined more from the colle&ive opinions of
preceding, fathers of the church, than from the Scriptures themfelves ! Thus
tradition and faith, for which men died, were foon the moft eminent and
viAorious argument of chriftiacity : the more ignorant, poor, and diftant, the
community was, the more muft fuch a tradition, as delivered by their teacher
and biftiop, and the teftimony of martyrs, as witnefles of the clnirch, be received
as it were on their word.
And yet, if we confider the origin of chriftianity, it could not eafily be pro-
pagated otherwife ^ for, being founded on a fadt, like all other &As it demanded
narration, tradition, faith. The fa& goes from mouth to mouth, till recorded
by writing it becomes a confirmed, fixed tradition, fubjeft to general examination,
and comparifon with other traditions. The ocular witnefles are dead, happy
therefore if the tradition tell us, that they fealed their teftimony with their blood $
human faith demands no more.
And thus the firft chriftian altars were confidently erefted upon graves. In
cemeteries the chriftians aflembled : in the catacombs themfelves were placed
the altars, on which they celebrated the lord's fupper, rehearfed their creed, and
vowed to be as faithful to it, as chofe who were gone before them. The firft
churches were either built over fepulchres, or the bodies of martyrs were brought
and placed under their altars, till at length a fingle bone was forced to fufSce for
it's confecration. By degrees, what once arofe from the circumftances of the
cafe, what had been the origin and feal of a fociety of chriftian converts, dege-
nerated into mere form and ceremony. Baptifm alfo, on occafion of which a
confeffion of faith was made, was celebrated over the graves of believers ; till at
length baptifteries were ercäedover them, or believers, as a fign that they died
in the faith, into which they had been baptifed, were interred under baptif-
teries. One arofe from the other, and almoft the whole form of ecclefiaftical
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Sio PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XVIL
ceremonies in the weft fprung from this profeßcn of faiik and fepuUhrd
V)orßnp •.
At any rate there was fomething very afiedbg in this covenant of truth and
obedience entered into at the grave. When, as Pliny fays, the chriftians af-
fembled before day, to fing hymns to their Chrift as to a god, and to bind
themfelves with the facrament, as with an oath, to purity of manners, and the
exercife of moral duties ; the ftiU graves of their brethren muft have been to
them an imprei&ve fymbol of conftancy unto death, and a confirmation of
their belief in that refurredion, which their lord and teacher, a martyr alfo, had
firft attained. To them this terreftrial life muft have appeared tranfitory;
death, as an imitation of his, honourable and pleafant % a future life, aimoft
more certain than the prefent : and fuch perfuafions form the fpirit of the moil
ancient chriftiau writings. Still fuch inftitutions muft inevitably have excited
an intemperate love of martyrdom; and men, weary of thb tranfient earthly
life, contended for the baptifin of blood and fire, as the chriftian crown of glory,
with ufelefs zeal. It was equally inevitable, that in time almoft divine honours
fhould be paid to the bones of the dead, and that they fhould be fuperftitiouilj
abufed to produce ecftafies, heal the fick, and work other miracles. Leaft of all
was it to be avoided, that this army of chriftian heroes (hould in a fhort time take
pofleffion of the whole Heaven of the church \ and as their bodies were brought
into the nave of the church with adoration, their fouls fliould difpofifefs all the
other bene&dors of mankind of their feats : fo that a new chrißian mythology
commenced : the mythology, that we behold over altars j the mythology, of
which we read in legends.
Ä. As in chriftianity every thing refted on profef&on, this profeffion on a
creed, and this creed on tradition ; either miraculous gifts, or a ftriä eccleß-
aßkal difäpline^ were neceflary to maintain order and government. With
this inftitution arofe the authority of the bifliops ; and to preferve unity of
faith, in other words, a connexion between many communities, councils and fy-
nods were requifite. If thefe were not unanimous, or found opposition in other
countries, appeals were made to the moft refpeded bilhops, as arUtraiors i
whence it could not ultimately fail, that one chief arifiocrat fliould gradually
arife out of this apoftolical ariftocracy. Wlio muft become this chief? The
bifhop of Jeruiklem was too remote, and too poor: his dioceie was too much
• See the works of Ciampini> Aringhii« and conaeded throughout with ccclefiaftjcal hiC-
Bingham, .ind others, on this fubjed. A hiftoiy tor/, would exhibit the whole in the cleareft
of zheTc things, taken from t view of the moft light.
•r.dcat churches and monomcnti themrdvet.
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Chap. IV.] Prugrefs of Chrißiakity in the Latin Prvuinces. 51 1
ftraitened by other apoftolical bißiops : he fat on his Golgotha, in a manner out
of the circle of the fovereignty of the World. The bißiops of Antioch, Alex-
andria, Rome, and laftly of Conftantinoplc alfo, fteppcd forward ; and owing to
the pofture of afiairs, the bifhop of Rome carried it from them all, even from
his moft eager rival at Conftantinople. The byzantinc patriarch was too near
the throne of the emperor, who could exalt or deprefs him at will, fo that
he could become nothing more than the ftate prelate of the court. On
the other hand, after the emperor had left Rome, and feated himfelfonthe
frontier of Europe, a thoufand circumftances combined, to give the primacy of
the church to this ancient metropolis of the World. Nations had been ac-
cuftomed for ages, to venerate the name of Rome; and in Rome it was ima-
gined, that the fpirit of univerfal dominion hovered over it's feven hills. Here,
according to the chronicles of the church, many martyrs had born their tefti-
mony,and thegreateftof the apoftles, Peter and Paul, received their crowns.
At an early period, too, was propi^tcd the talc of Peter's epifcopal rule over
this ancieht apoftolical church; and the uninterrupted atteftation of his fuccef-
fors was quickly demonftrated. Now as the keys of the kingdom of Heaven
were delivered exprefsly to this apoftle, and the indeflruftible edifice of the
church was founded on the rock of his profeffion; how natural was it, that
Rome (hould take the place of Antioch or Jerufalem, and prepare to be con*
fidered as the mother church of fovereign chriflendom ! The bifhop of Rome
early enjoyed honour and precedence, even in councils, before others more
learned and powerful : in difputes he was employed as a friendly arbitrator }
and what had long been a poft of free choice in a council became in time a
claim of right ; his infbuftive voice was confidered as decifive. The fituation
of Rome in the centre of the roman World conferred on it's bifliops a wide field,
weft, fouth, and northwards, for counfels and regulations s particulariy as the
imperial greek throne was too remote, and foon became too feeble, to control
them with much effeA. The fine provinces of the roman empire, Italy with
it's iüands, Africa, Spain, Gaul, and part of Germany, into which chriftianity
had been early introduced, lay round it as a garden requiring aid and advice:
£uther to the north were barbarians, whofe rude countries were foon to be con-
verted into fertile lands of chriftendom. Here being no powerful competition,
much more was to be done, and to be gained, than in the eaftern provinces
thickly fet with bifliops, which were foon ravaged and exhaufted by fpecula-
tions, oppofitions, and contefls, by the diflblute tyranny of the emperors, and
by the irruption of the mohammedan arabs, and other nations ftill more favage.
The barbarian firanknefs of the europeans was much more favourable to it, than
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Stt PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIP.
the infincerity of the poliOied greeks, or the fanaticifm of the aliatics. Chrif-
tianity, there in a ftate of ebullition, and occafionally appearing as a febrile dc-
Briumof the underftanding, was cooled by it's regulations and prefcriptions in
the more temperate cliniate of the weft ; without which it would probably have
funk into that ftate of debility, which we obferve in the eaft fucceeding the
mad ftretch of it's powers.
The bifliop of Rome unqucftionably did much for chriftendom : mindfal of
the roman name, he not only conquered a World by converfion, but eftabliftied
in it, by means of laws, manners, and cuftoms, a more durable, powerful, and in-
timate fway, than that of ancient Rome. The romiOi fee never contended for
the palm of learning : this it rtlinquilhed to others, to the alexandrian, the mi-
laneie, the hipponian even, or any other that coveted it : but to fubjeft the
moft learned fees, and to rule the World, not by philofophy, but by policy, tra-
dition, ecclefiaftical law, and ceremonies, were it's aims : and could not fail tobe
fo, as itftlf refted folely on ceremonies and tradition. Thus from Rome pro-
ceeded the numerous rites of the weftern church, relating to the celebration of
feftivah, the clafEng of priefts, the- inftitution of facraments, prayers, and obla-
tions for the dead j altars, chalices, tapers, fafts, praying to the mother of
God, the celibacy of priefts and monks, the invocation of faints, the worfhip-
ing of images; procefSons, maflcs for the foul-, bells, canonization, tranfub-
flantiation, the adoration of the hoft, &c. ; rites, that arofe partly from an-
cient circumftances, in which the enthufiaftic conceptions of the orientals bad
often great (hare, partly from accommodation to local ufages of the weft, and
chiefly of Rome, incorporated by degrees in the great ecclefiaftical ritual*.
Such weapons now conquered the World : they were the mafter-keys of Hea^
vcn and Earth. Before them bowed nations, that would not have ffirunk from
the fword : roman ceremonies had more weight with them, than the fpeculations
of the Eaft. Thefc ecclefiaftical laws, it muft be confeffcd, exhibit a fearful
contraft to the ancient roman policy : ftill they ultimately ferved, to convert
the mafly fceptre into a lefs weighty paftoral ftaff, and the barbarous cuftom
of heathen nations by degrees into a milder chriftian law. The chief fliep-
herd at Rome, after having laborioufly attained the fupreuiacy, muft have in-
terfered more in the affairs of the weft, even againft his will, than any cf his
colleagues in the eaft or weft could do ; and if the propagation of chriftianity
• I doubt whether a true hiftory of thefe ritet and the charadler of the people. What in Room
and inftittttions, carrying conndtion on the face u evident to the new« ti often looked hi i
of it, can be written without an accurate know- the £arüi«
kdge of Rome, with it'i local circumftincei,
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Cha?. IV.] Progrefs of Chrißianity in sie Latin Provinces. 5*3
be in itfelf a merit, this is his in an eminent degree. England and the greater
part of Germany, the northern kingdoms, Poland, and Hungary, became chrif-
tian through the means of his meafures, and his nuncios : nay, that Europe
probably was not for ever to be difturbed by huns, faracens, tatan, turks, and
mungals, is partly alfo his work. If all the chriflian races of emperors, kings,
princes, counts, and knights, fliould vaunt the merits, by which they formerly
acquired fovereignty over nations, the triple-crowned great lama at Rome,
born on the (houlders of unarmed priefts, may blcfs them all with his (acred
crofier, and fay, * but for me you would never have become what you are." The
prelervation of antiquity, likewife, is his work i and Rome deferves to be the
peaceful temple of it's preferved treafiires.
3. TAus tie dure A formed isfelf with as mueh locality in the weß^ af in the eafl.
Here, alfo, was a latin Egypt, the chriflian part of Africa, where, as in the other,
many afncan dodtrines arofe. The ftrong expreffions ufed by TertuUian re«
fpeft'mg fatisfadion, by Cyprian refpefting the penance of finners, by Auftin
lefpeding grace and freewill, infinuated themfelves into the fyftem of the
church : and though thebifhopof Rome commonly piufued the middle track,
be fometimes wanted learning, at others authority, to fleer the veiiel of the
church on the wide ocean of doftrines. The learned and pious Pelagius, for
inflance, was much too feverely treated by Auftia and Jerome : Auftin con-
tended agamft the manicheans only with a more refined fpecies of manicheifm ;
and what in this extraordinary man frequently proceeded alone from the fire of
his imagination, and the heat of difpute, pafled into the fyflem of the church
in too violent a flame. Yet peace be to thine a(hes, thou great contender for
inrhat thou caUedft the unity of the faith. Thy laborious tafk is ended; and pro-
bably it's effeft extended too fifir, and too powerfully, through the fucceeding
ages of chriflianity.
Still I mufl not pafs over the firil opder introduced into the weft, that of the
benedi&ines. Every attempt to naturalize in the weft the monaftic life of the
caft, happily for Europe, was oppofed by the climate, till this moderate order
cfbblifhed itfelf, under the favour of Rome, on mount Caflino. It adopted bet-
ter clothing and diet, than the hot and abftemious eaft required ; it's rule, origi-
nally formed by a layman for the laity, alfo enjoined labour; and thus it was
of particuhir utility in various wild and barren diftri&s of Europe. How
oiany fine lands tn all countries have been pofTefied by benediäines, who
had partly reduced them into a ftate of cultivation ! In every department
of literature, too, they did all» that monafUc induftry could accompliOi :
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524 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIL
individuals have written whole libraries ; and congregations have made it
their bufinefs, to cultivate and enlighten the deferts <^ die literaiy World,
by editing and illuftratbg numberlefs works, particularly of the middle
ages. But for the order of St. Benedift, probably the greater part of the
writings of antiquity would have been lofl: to us $ and when we come to
faioted abbots, hiSbopt, cardinals, and popes, the number of them taken
from this order, and their laboun, are fufficient of themfdves to com-
pofe a library. Gr^ry the great, alone, a benedidine^ did more than
ten fpiritual or temporal fovereigns ; and to this order we are indebted al-
fo for the prefervation of the ancient church-mufic, which has had fo much e£*
(e& on men*s minds.
Farther we ihall not proceed. Before we fpeak of the efied produced
on the barbarians by chriftianity, we muft take a view of the barbarians
themfelves, how they entered in great bodies, one after another, into the
loman empire, founded kingdoms, moftly confirmed by Rome itfelf, and
whatever may be further deduced üom this for the hiftory of man.
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m^'^m^^^'^^'^^mmB^y^
I S^S 1
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK XVIII.
AS whea mountain torrents, fwelled to a flood in fome lofty valley» at
length burft down it's fiseble dam and inundate the phuns below«
wave breaks on wave, (bream fdtows ftream, till all becomes one wide fea»
which, flowly fubfiding, leaves every where traces of devaftation, obliterated
in time by flourilfaing paftures animated with fertility i fo followed the cele-
brated irruptions of the northern nations into the provinces of the roman em-
pire, and fuch were their effeds. Long were tbefe nations refifted, checked»
occafionally admitted as allies or fubfidiaries, frequently betrayed and abufed ;
till at length they did themfelves juftice, demanded or conquered lands, and in
ibme degree crowded upon one another* Our objeft muft be, therefore, not fo
mudi to examine into thejuilice of the pretenfions made by each of thefe na«
tions to the country yielded to it, or conquered by it*, as to obferve the u(e
made of the country, and the new form thus given to Europe. Every where
new nations were grafted on the old ftock ; what buds, what fruits did thejf
produce for mankind i
CHAPTER t
Kingdom of tie Ftfigotis, SueveSy Alans ^ and Vandah*
395-
The viiigoths were called in by two treacherous minifters of the eaftem
and weftem empires, Ruffinus and Stilicho ; in the former of which they
ravaged Thrace and Greece; in the latter, Italy. Alaric befieged Rome ; ^^^*
and as Honorius did not keep his word with him, he twice took, the city, and
• Gatterer's Ahrifi itr Umvtr/albißerie» Daa/chen, «Hiftory of the Germant/ Leipflp^
■Sketch of Univer&l Hiftory/ Gottingenj 1727« 1717, '^nuiit^i Gt/cbicbtt dtfwicbtigftm
>773» P* 449« «nd fbllowing^ givei in accuxate« BigeltenbtittH dti Antti^nt Europa^ < Hiftoiy of the
though conciTe account of thefe migrations and mod important Events of modem Barope/and
trraptions, and of the frequent change of boan* others, have entered into them more at large,
^ar/that took place. Mafcon't Gifibkkidir
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526 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XVIIL
at laft gave it up to plunder. Laden with booty, the king of the vifigoths
advanced to the ftrait of Sicily, and was contemplating the conqueft of
Africa, the granary of Italy, when death flopped the progrefs of liis viftories.
The valiant robber was interred in a river with many things of great value.
His fucceflbr Adolphus, or Ataulf, the emperor contrived to fend intoSpain
*^ ** and Gaul, againft the vandals, alan8,and fueves, who had broken into thofe
provinces, and thus freed Italy from his prefencc. Here, after having been
again impofed upon, and at length married to Placidia, the daughter of
*'^' the emperor Theodofius, he foxinded the firft vifigothic kingdom.
The fine towns of Narbonne, Touloufe, and Bourdeaux, belonged to him, and
fome of his fucceflbrs extended their pofleffions in Gaul ftill ferther. But as
here the franks were too near them, and the catholic bifhops of the country
were treacherous and illdifpofed to the arian goths, they turned their arms
with more fucccfs toward the Pyrenees ; and after long wars with the alans,
fueves, and vandals, and the complete expulfion of the romans fix>m this
5^' country, they at length gained pofleflSon of the fine peninfula of Spaia
and Portugal, with part of fouthern Gaul and of the african coafL
Of the kingdom of the fueves in Spain, during the 178 years it con*
^^7 tinued, we have nothing to fay : after a feries of loifes and mis/br*
^^ tunes, it loft even it*s name, and was abforbed in the fpanilh gothic king-
*^i- dorn.
The vifigoths rendered themfelves more memorable, when they entered this
country. Already in Gaul, while Touloufe was the feat of their kings, Eric
caufed a book of laws to be written * 1 and his fucceflbr Alaric compofed a
code from the laws and writings of roman jurifls, which preceded that of
^ * Juftinian -f. It was of force among fevcral german nations, burgun-
dians, angles, franks, and lombards, as an abftraffc of the roman law; and alio
preferved to us a part of the theodofian code, though the goths themfelves
were more inclined to adhere to their own laws and cuftoms. On the other
fide of the Pyrenees they entered a country, which had been under the romans
a flourifhing province, full of towns« civil inftitutions, and trade. When
Rome was finking in luxury, Spain had given to the metropolis of the World
a feries of celebrated men, whofe writings even at that time difplayed fbme
marks of the fpanifh charadtcr J. Chriflianity, too, reached Spain at an early
• Pithou'a CUtx Ligum m/grth^rMm/YiA» fred's Pr§Iig. C«/. Thfiffi^ * Preface to the
gothic Co(k of Law«/ Parii, 1 579. Theodofian Code,' c. 6, 7.
f Scho]ting's7»ri;^W. Jntt-jußiutn., * Ja- X Lucan, Mela, Colomella, the two Senceai,
TiTpnidmce prior to Jaftwiaa/ p. 41$ : Godio« QaintiUaD, Martial, Flonu, aad others, wen
fpamard«.
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Cha?. L] Kingdoms of the Vtßgoths^ Sueves^ Alans^ and Vandals. 517
period i and as the fplrit of the people, from a fingular mixture of various
nations in a feduded region, was prone to the romantic and extraordinary, mira-
culous ftories and penances, abftinence and retirement from the World, ortho-
doxy, martyrdom, and ecclefiaftical magnificence difplayed over the graves of
üunts were fo much to their tafle, that Spain» partly from it's fituation like-
wile, foon become a true chriftian palace. From Spain it was eafy to apply
for council, or to give advice, to the biffaop of Rome, of Hippo, of Alexandria,
or of Jerufalem ; as it was to perfecute heretics, in or out of the country, and
even purfue them as far as Paleftine. Accordingly the fpaniards were declared
enemies to heretics from the beginning ; and the prifcillianifts, manicheans,
arians, jews, pelagians, neftorians, and others, experienced to their coft the
warmth of their orthodoxy. The early hierarchy of the bifliops of this apo-
flolical peninfula, with their frequent and rigid councils, afforded a pattern to
the romifli fee itfclf 5 and if France afterwards aided this chief (hepherd with the
temporal arm, Spain had previoufly affifted him with the fpintual.
Into fuch a kingdom, of ancient civilization and a firmly eftabliQied eccle-
fiaftical conftitution, came the frank arian goths, who found it by no means
eafy to withftand the yoke of the catholic bifliops. Long, indeed, they carried
their heads eredt ; they had recourfe both to mildnefs, and to perfecution ; and
endeavoured to unite the two churches. But in vain : the prevailing roman
catholic church never gave way, and at length the arians were condemned in
feveral councils at Toledo with as much rigour, as if never one of this fed had
been king of Spain. After king Leovigild,. the laft of gothic fpirit, was dead>
and Reccard, his fon, had reconciled himfelf to the catholic church, the
laws of the kingdom, alfo, framed in an aflembly of bifliops, received the ^
imprcffion of the cpifcopal and monaftic charafter. Corporal punifliment,
which the germans held in abhorrence, began to prevail in them ; and the
fpirit of a tribunal for heretics became perceptible in them, long before the
name of an inquifition was known *.
Thus the eftablifliment oi the goths was imper^eft and fettered in this fine
country, where, furrounded by feas and mountains, they might have formed
a noble and lafting kingdom, had they poffeffed fufficient fpirit and under-
(landing, and bowed neither before the church nor the climate. But the force
rpaoUrdü. See the Hiftory of S|»iii(h Poetry as weir as in the great coIIeAion entitled J^^M»
by Velafqaez, a gerroan tranflition of which Sagrada, &c. The vifigothic laws arc to be
was pttblilhed at Gottingcn in 1769. feen in Pithoa, in Lindenbrog's Ctl. Lei, -'*'•
* The reflations of the ecclefiaftical coon- < Codes of ancient Iiaw/ and other worb,
dlt aaay bo found ia FcrnuV» hiftory of Spain,
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52« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIIL
of that torrent, which under Alaric once foamed through Greece and Italy, had
long abated : the fpirlt of Adolphus, who had fworn to demolifli Rome, and
erea a new gothic city, to be the head of the World, on it's ruins, was curbed
from the moment he fuffered himfelf to be led into a corner of the empire, and
afcend the nuptial bed with a Placidia, The conqueft proceeded flowly, as
germans were to purchafe the provinces from germans with their blood : and
when, after a tedious conteft againfl the church, the bifliops, and the nobles of
the realm, two fuch dlfcordant extremes at length coalefcedj the time for efta*
blifhing a firm gothic empire in Spain was gone by. Hitherto the kings of
thefe people had been chofen by the nation ; but now tlie bißiops rendered their
office hereditary, and their perfons facred. The diets were converted into ecclc-
iiailical aflemblies, and the epifcopal order was made the iirft in the kingdonu
The loyalty of the nobles of the court was diffipatcd in pomp and luxury;
the courage of the once valiant warriors, among whom the land was divided,
became nervelefs in their fertile domains; and the morals and virtue of
the monarchs were abforbed by a prerogative eftablifhed on the bafe of
religion* Thus the kingdom lay expofed to the enemy on every fide : and
when the aflailants arrived from the african (hores, fuch terrour ftalked before
them, that one fuccefsful battle was fufficient to give tlie fwamiing arabs the
larger and finer part of Spain within the courfe of two years. Many
'^*' of the bifliops proved tnutors: the diffolute nobles fubmittcd, fled, or
fell. The kingdom, which, deftitute of an internal conftitution, fliould have
repofed on the perfonal valour and martial fpirit of it's goths, was defencelefs,
when this valour and this fpirit were no more. Much may be learned with
regard to ecclefiaflical difcipline and rites from the SpanÜh councils : Toledo
was, and long remained, the grave of the civil government of Spain *.
As the valiant remains of thefe betrayed and defeated goths again ifTued
from their mountains, and in feven or eight hundred years fcarcely recovered by
three thoufand feven hundred battles, what two years and one viftory had taken
from them ; could the fingular compound of chriftian and gothic fpirit appear
otherwife than as a fliadow from the grave ? Ancient chriftians reconquered their
land longdefecrated by the infidel faracens.* every church they were able to confc-
crate anew was to them a valuable prize of vi&oiy. Thus biflioprics and convents
without number were revived, founded, and extolled as the triumphal honouir
of the crofs and the fword ; and (ot this the flow progrefs of the conqueft afforded
• I have never (ten the original inquiry of ff^eJIr^-XUt&tnm in Si/^umta, * On the kingdom
ft fwede concerning the Caofes of the ipeedf of the Vifigoths in Spain/ UpfiU» i7O5,€0BtaiM
DmUd« of thia kingdoiB* Iftrhida ^ Rtgu only icidtfmical dccUmatJOBUi
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Chap. I.] Kingdoms of tie Vifigoth^ Sueves^ AlanSy and Vandals. 529
ample time. It happened too, principally, in the moft flourifliing periods of
chivalry and the popedom. Some kingdoms, that had been taken firom the
moors, the king offered to the pope as iie&, that he might reign in them as a
genuine fon of the ancient church. Every where the bifhops were his partners
in authority \ and the chriftian knights, who with him had conquered the king-
doms, vftrt grandes e ricos hombres^ a fuperiour order of nobility, who divided the
new chriftian realm with the king.
As jews and arians had been expelled by the orthodox of former times, fo
now were jews and mohammedans by thofe of modern days : thus a fine coun-
try, once flourifliing under various people, was gradually converted into a plea-
fant defert. The pillars of this ancient and modern gothic chriftian confti-
tution of the ftate are ftill ftanding over all Spain ; and Time has placed many
between them, without being able to change the outline or foundation of the
building. It is true, the throne of the catholic king no longer flands by the
fide of that of the biftiop in Toledo j and the holy inquifition, fince it's efta-
blifliment, has become rather the tool of defpotifm, than of blind devotion :
yet in this fecluded romantic land of fanaticifm fo many ftrong fortreflis of
knights have been erected, that the bones of St. James appear to reft even
more fecurely in Compoftella, than thofe of St. Peter in Rome. More than
fifty biftiops and archbifliops, and upwards of three thoufand convents, moft of
them wealthy, enjoy the facrifice of a kingdom, which has propagated it's
orthodoxy with fire and fword, with treachery and with bloodhounds, in two
other quarters of the Globe : in fpanifli America alone almoft as many of the
cpifcopal order are enthroned in all the pomp of the church. In the depart-
ment of letters, the fpaniards clofely followed the romans in facred poetry,
polemics, and canon law ; and thefe were fucceeded by expofitions of Scripture
and legends in fuch number, that even their comedies and farces, their dances
and bull-fights, could not difpenfc with a mixture of religion. The epifcopal
gothic jurifprudence intimately involved itfelf with the romilh canon law, and
on this all the acutenefs of the nation was fo whetted into fubtilties, that here
too we have a defert producing thorns inftead of fruit *. Laftly, though in
feme degree the fliadow only remains of thofe fuperiour pofts about the court
and crown, which were at firft peribnal offices merely among the goths, as
among other germans, but afterwards as dignities of the realm fucked the mar-
row of the land for half a chiliad ; the kingly power having had the addre(s
* The fpanifli commentators, both on the a numerous body, in which all the acumen of the
roman law, and on \\\tßette partidas, the leges nation is exhaufled.
Jt torp, the aurosy acutrdos del eoneejo real, form
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530 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIH.
on the one hand to ally itfelf with the pope, on the other to abate the pride of
the nobles, and curtail their authority : ftill, as incongruous principles of this
kind enter into the groundwork of the ftate, and are interwoven with the cha-
rader of the nation itfelf, this fine country will long remain in all probability a
more temperate european Africa, a gothico-moorifli chriftian ftate.
The vandals, preflcd upon by the vifigoths and fpaniards, paffed into Africa
with the remains of the alans, and there formed the firft neft of chriftian pirates,
more wealthy and powerful than any of their mohammedan fucceffors afterwards
became. Genferic, their king, one of the moft valiant barbarians the Earth
ever beheld, in a few years made himfelf matter of the whole of the fcr-
^ ^ tile coaft of Africa, from the lybian deferts to the ftrait of Gibraltar, with
an army by no means numerous; and created a naval force, with which
^^^' this numidian lion plundered all the coafts of the Mediterranean, from
Greece and Illyria to the pillars of Hercules, and beyond them as far as Gal-
licia; ftized on the balearic iflands, Sardinia, and part of Sicily; and
^^^' facked Rpme, the metropolis of the World. Ten days he fpent
in deliberately and completely ttripping this city, and then retired with the
golden covering of the capitol, the ancient fpoils of the temple of Jeru-
falem, immenfe trcafures in works of art and precious things, and a mul-
titude of captives, of whom he fcarcely knew how to difpofe, and among whom
were an emprefs and her two daughters. All this booty he fuccefsfully
conveyed to his new Carthage, except a part of the trcafore, which was fwal-
lowed up by the fea. The elder of the emperor's daughters, Eudoxia, he mar-
ried to his fon j the younger he fent back, with her mother : and in the whole
ofhisconduA he proved himfelf fuch a brave and able monfter, as to be
worthy of the friendfhip and alliance of the great Attila, who affrighted, con-
quered, and rendered tributary the World, from the borders of the Lena in
Alia to the banks of the Rhine. Juft toward his fubjedbs, ftridt in his manners,
continent, temperate, cruel only when moved by anger or fufpicion, and always
aAive, always vigilant, Genferic fpent a long and profperous life, and left
■+7 7* to his two fons a flourilhing kingdom, in which the trcafures ofthe weft
had been colledted.
His laft will determined the fate of his realm. Conformably to this, the
oldeft member of his whole family was always to fucceed to the throne, as he
muft have enjoyed the moft time for experience j and this very circumftance
threw the apple of difcord among his defendants. Thenceforward the oldeft
of the family was never fccure of his life, as every younger member was eag^ to
be the oldeft : thus brothers and coufins murdered one another i each feared.
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Chap. I.J Kingdom of the Vifigothsy Sneves^ Alans^ and Fandals. 53 1
or envied» the reft ; and as the (pirit of the founder was inherited by none of
his fiicceflbrs, his vandals fiink into all the indolence and licentioufnefs of the
african climes. Their permanent encampment, which fliould have foftered
their ancient courage, became the feat of play and luxurj' \ and after a period
of time fcarcely equal to that during which Genferic himfclf had reigned, the
whole kingdom was overturned in a (ingle campaign. The eighth
king, Gelimer, was carried to Conftantinople, with his plundered trea- '^^^•
fures, in all the pomp of barbarian triumph, and died as a peafant : his captived
vandals were tranfported to fortreiles on the confines of Perfia, and the remains
of the nation were loft. Thus vanifhed, as an enchanted palace with all it's
treafury, this wonderful kingdom, coins of which are ftill cafually found in the
foil of Afrtc. The veflels of Solomon's temple, which Genferic had taken from
Rome, were carried a third time in triumph at Conftantinople ; thence they
revifited Jerufalem, as prefeots to a chriftian church ; and fince they have
probably been difperfed over all the World as coins, imprefled with fome arable
fentence.
Thus wander facred things ; thus vanifh kingdoms ; thus nations and times
revolve. It would have been a matter of no fmall importance, had this
vandal kingdom been capable of maintaining it's ground in Africa : a great part
of european, afiatic, and african hiftory, nay the whole courfe of european
civilization, would have been changed by it. At prefent the memory
of this people is fcarcely to be traced in the name of a fingle fpanifh pro«
vince *.
CHAPTER II.
Kingdoms of the OJhogoths and Lombards.
Before we enter upon the confideration of the lombards and oftrogoths, we
inuft caft our eyes for a moment on that meteor in the horizon of Europe, that
fcourge in the hand of God, the terrour of the World, Attila^ king of the huns.
We have already obferved, that the eruption of the huns from Tatary
was the real occafion of that laft great movement of all the german ^'
nations, which put an end to tlie roman empire. The power of the huns in
Europe arofe to it's moft tremendous height under Attila : to him the
emperors of the eaft were tributary : he defpifed them as the flaves ^^^'
• Mannert*! Gt/cbicbtt dtr VtmiaitUt ' Hif- ereded a lading memorial to hii fame in hit
tory of the Vandals/ Lcipfic» 1785, is a jure- Gttgrapbit dtr Gritcbtn, umd Rtrmer, ' Geognu
Aile cflay, not anworthy of the naOf who has phy of the Greeks and Romans.*
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53^ PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIII.
of their own fervants, received from them annually 2100 pounds
^'' weight of gold, himfelf clad in plain linen. Goths, gepidcs, alans,
herules, acazires, thuringians, and flavians, were his fervants : he dwelt
in a wooden houfe, in a village, in the midfl of a defert, in the northern part
of Pannonia*. While his guefts and companions were ferved in vcflels of
gold, he drank out of a wooden cup, and wore not fo much as a üngle
golden ornament, or precious (lone, even on his fword, or on the bridle of
his horfe. Juft and equitable, extremely kind to his fubjeäs, but miftruftful
of his enemies, and haughty toward the haughty romans ; he fuddenly burft
forth, excited probably by Genferic, king of the vandals, with an army of five
or fix hundred thoufand men of all nations, direAed his courfe weftward,
•^^^' travcrfed Germany, pafled the Rhine, and extended his ravages into the
midft of Gaul. Every thing trembled before him, till at length an army of all
the wedern nations colledted, and advanced againft him. With the prudence
of a confummate general, Attila retreated through the plain of Chalons, where
his pafifage was free : romans, goths, latins, armoricans, breons, burgundians,
faxons, alans, and franks, drew together to oppofe him : he himfelf gave orders
for battle : the fight was bloody, numbers fell on the field, and fome trifling
circumftances decided the fate of the day. Attila repailed the Rhine
^•5*' unpurfucd J and the following year returned, croflfcd the Alps, travcrfed
Italy, deftroyed Aquileia, plundered Milan, burned Pavia, and fell upon Rome,
that he might at once make a complete end of the roman empire. Leo, the
bifliop of Rome, came to meet him, and with tears intreated him to fpare the
city : he likewife vifited him in his camp at Mantua, and prevailed upon him
to leave Italy.
The king of the huns returned over the Alps, and was meditating revenge
for the battle he had loft in Gaul, when death ftopped his career. His
^ huns interred him with loud lamentations; and with him funk their
fearful power. His fon Ellak died foon after him ; his empire fell to pieces;
and the remains of his people returned to Afia, or were dcftroyed. This
Attila is the king EtzeJ celebrated in german fong j the hero, before whofe
table the poets of many countries fang the deeds of their forefathers : he
« Tbe perfonal traits of AttUa are taken « On the firll Expedition of AttUa/ Di /rims
chiefly from the embafly of Prifcus to him, from Exptdithai Jttila, Letpfic, 1780, with remarks ;
which w» cannot with confidence draw a piflure and a work « On the Mannen and Cuftoms of
of him through the whole of hii life. Many the Europeans« in the fifth and fixth Centuriei,'
illnftrations on thti head, and of the manners of Sititn und Gilnrueht dtr Ewpatr im $ M$d^
the people, are coUeded from P. C. J. Fifcher ; Jahrhiaulirt, Frankfort, 1784.
wllopubliflied an old poem, difcovered by him»
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Chap. IL] Kingdoms of the Ofirogoths and Lombards. 53 J
too is the monfter reprefcnted on coins and in pidtures with horns, nay whofe
whole nation has been made a brood of elves and goblins. Happily Leo ac-
compliflied, what no army could have performed, and preferred Europe from x
ilate of calmuc fervitude ; for that the foldiers of Attila were mungals, their
government, manners, and way of life, evince.
The kingdom of the kerules^ likewife, muft not be paffed over unnoticed, for
by it the whole weftcrn empire was brought to an end. Thefe, with other
german nations, had long ferved as mercenaries in the armies of the romans ;
and when, from the increafing ncceffitics of the empire, their pay was difcon-
tinued, they took care to remunerate themfelves. A third part of the lands of
Italy was given them to cultivate > and a fortunate adventurer, Odoacer, the
leader of the fcirri, rugi, and hcrules, became the firft king ofthat country. ^
Romulus, the laft of the emperors, fell into his hands ; and as the youth '
and beauty of this prince excited his compaflion, he allowed him an annual in-
come, with one of the villas of LucuUus in Campania. Seventeen years Odoacer
governed Italy, as low down as Sicily, with great merit, though the country
was diftreffed by the greateft public calamities, till the plunder of fuch noble
poffeffions tempted Theodoric, king of the oftrogoths. This young hero ob-
tained the gift of the kingdom of Italy from the byzantine court, and overcame
Odoacer, who, refofing to keep an ignominious treaty, was murdered.
Thus began the fovereignty of the oftrogoths. The founder of this
kingdom, Theodoric, known in popular ftory by the name of Dietrich ^'
of Bern, was polifhed and humane. He had been educated as a hoftage at
Conftantinople, and performed confiderablc fervices to the eaftern empire.
There the dignities of a patriarch and conful had already been conferred upon
him ; and he had been honoured with a ftatue before the imperial palace. But
Italy was the field of his jufter fame ; an equitable and peaceful reign. Since
the time of Marcus Antoninus this part of the roman world had not been ruled
with more wifdom and goodnef?, than he governed Italy and Illyricum, part of
Germany and Gaul, and Spain alfo as regent. For a long time, likewife, he
held the fcalcs between the vifigoths and franks. Notwithftanding his triumph
at Rome, he arrogated not to himfelf the imperial title, and was contented
with the name of Flavins : but he exercifed all the authority of an emperor,
fed the roman people, reftored to the city it's ancient games, and, being an
arian, fcnt the bifliop of Rome as his ambaflador to Conftantinople even in be-
half of arianifm. As long as he held the fceptre, peace reigned among the
barbarians j for the vifigothic, frank, vandal, and thuringian kingdoms, were
allied to him by treaty, or by blood. Under him Italy revived \ as he en-
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534 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. tBooK XVIII.
couragcd agriculture and the arts, and left to ever}' people it's laws and cuftomSi
He upheld and honoured the monuments of antiquity ; ereöed fplendid edifices,
though not altogether in the roman taftc, fro n which probably the appellation
of gothic architedure is derived ; and his court was refpefted by all the barba-
rians. Some feeble glimmering of fciencc even appeared under him: the nimcs
of his principal officers of ftatc, a Caffiodorus, a Boethius, and a Symmachus,
are ftill highly efteemed. Both Symmachus and Boetliius, it muft be confefled,
met an untimely fate, in confequencc of a fufpicion, that they aimed to Tcftore
the liberty of Rome : yet perhaps the old king may be forgiven for this fufpi-
cion, as he could look only to an infant grandfon for a fuccelTor, and was well
aware, how much was wanting to the permanent (lability of his kingdom.
Much is it to be wiflied, that this kingdom of the goths had ftood ; and that
a Theodoric had determined the fpiritual and temporal conftitution of Europe,
inftcad of a Charlemagne«
This great king died, however, after a wife and aftive reign of thirty-
^ ' four years i and immediately the evils, that lay in the political conftitu-
tion of ail the german nations, broke out. Amalafvinda, the worthy guardian
of the young AdelrLch, was thwarted in his education by the nobles of the
realm i and as on his deceafe flic took the deteftable Deodatus for an affiftant
in the tafk of government, who rewarded her with death, the ftandard of re-
volt was raifed among the goths. Many of the nobles afpired after the fove-
reignty : the avaricious Juftinian interfered in their difputes, and his general
, Belifarius croffed the fea, under the pretence of delivering Italy. The
* difunited goths were hemmed in, and betrayed ; Ravenna, the refidence of
their fovereigns, was taken by fraud; and Belifarius returned with the
treafures of Theodoric, and a captive king. Soon, however, the war was
renewed. Totilas, the valiant king of the goths, twice took Rome, but fpared
g the city, only throwing down it's walls, and leaving it open. This Totilas
was a fecond Theodoric, and found fufficient employment for the treachcr-
^^^' ous greeks during the eleven years of his reign. Alter he had been flain in
552. battle, and his hat and bloody garments were laid at the feet of the frivo-
554. lous Juftinian, the kingdom of the goths came to an end; though they
held out bravely, till reduced to the laft 7000 men.
The mlad revolts at the contemplation of this war, in which juftice and
valour contended, on the one fide, ngainft grecian treachery, avarice, and
Italian bafenefs, on the other ; till at length Narfes, an eunuch, fucceeded in
extirpating that monarchy, which Theodoric had founded for the happineis of
Italy ; and introduced, to the lafting afHiction of the country, the weak and
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Chap. IL] King Joins of the Oßrogoth and Lombards. jjj
fubtile exarchate, from which fo many evils and diforders fprung. Here, too,
as in Spain, the religion and conftitution of the gothic ftate were unfortunately
the grounds of it's decay. The romifli fee could not bear the arian goths fo
near it, nay as it's maftejs : accordingly it left no means unattempted for theiK
deftruftion, not even the interference of Conftantinople, though thus itfelf
was endangered. Befides» the charadter of the goths had not aiSmilated with
that of the italians : they were looked upon as ftrangers and conquerors, and
the treacherous greeks were preferred to them ; though from thefe the italians
fuffered unfpeakably, even in the war they carried on for their deliverance;
and they would have fuflfered ftill more, had not the lombards come to their
afSftance againO: their will. The goths were difperfed, and their laft remains
croffed the Alps.
The lombards deferve, that the upper part of Italy (houtd bear their name,
as it was denied that of the more eftimable goths. Againft the goths Juftinian
called them forth from Pannonia; and they at length fettled themfelves in
pofleffion of their booty. Alboin, a prince whofe name is celebrated by many
german nations, crofled the Alps with an army compofed of various tribes, at-
tended by their wives, children, cattle, and domeftic utenfils, to inhabit, ^^
not to ravage, the land taken from the goths. He acquired the country
afterwards called Lombardy, and in Milan, elevated on a (hield, was proclaim-
ed king of Italy by his lombards : but his death foon followed. His mur- ,
der was planned by his wife Rofamund; who efpoufed his aflaflin, but ^'
was forced to flee from the country. The king eledted by the lombards was
haughty and cruel 4 the nobles, therefore, unanimoufly refolvcd to choofc no
other, and to divide the kingdom among them.
Hence arofe fix and thirty dukes, and the firft lombard-german conftitution
in Italy was eftabliflied. For when the nation, compelled by neceffity, again
cleftc'd a king, every powerful feudatory for the moft part afted as he pleafcd.
Often the king was even deprived of the choice of thefe; and at laft his power
of ruling and employing his vaflals depended folely on his precarious perfonal
authority. Thus arofe the dukes of Friuli, Spoleto, and Benevento ; who were
foon followed by others : for the country abounded with cities, in which here a
duke, there a count, could eftabliih himfelf. Thus, however, the kingdom of
Lombardy was enfeebled, and could have been much more eafily extirpated
than that of the goths, had Conftantinople pofl"efled a Juftinian, a Bclifarius,
and a Narfcs. Yet even in this feeble ftate it was capable of deftroying the re-
mains of the exarchate ; though it's own fall was prepared by it. The bifliop
of Rome, who wilhed only for a weak and divided government in Italy, beheld
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53« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIIL
the lombards too powerful, and too near. Having no longer any affiftance to
cxpeft from Gonftantinople, Stephen crofled the mountains ; flattered Pepin,
the ufurper of the crown of the Franks, with the honour of being a protedtor
of the church ; anointed him legitimate king of France ; and accepted as a re-
ward the five cities, even previous to the commencement of the campaign, in
which they were to be conquered, and the exarchate» yet to be taken from the
lombards.
Charlemagne, the fon of Pepin, completed his father's work ; and fubdued,
with his over whehning power, the lombard kingdom. In recorapenfe,
he was created by the holy father patrician of Rome, and protestor of
800. the church, and proclaimed and crowned emperor of the romans, as if by
the infpiration of the fpirit. The effeft of this proclamation on Europe in
general will hereafter appear : to Italy the confequcnce of this mafterly call of
the filherman's net was the irreparable lofs of the lombard kingdom. During
the two centuries of it's continuance, it had promoted the population
of the ravaged and exhaufted country j it had diffufed fecurity and hap-
pinefs through the land, by means of germanic order and equity ; while every
ftate was permitted either to adopt the lombard laws, or to retain it's own.
The jurifprudence of the lombards was concife, methodical, and effcÄive : their
laws remained in force long after their kingdom was deftroyed. Even Charle-
magne, by whom it was overturned, dill allowed them to be valid, only with
additions of his own. In feveral parts of Italy they continued to be the com-
mon law, in conjundtion with the roman; and found admirers and expofitors,
even when the juftinian code became paramount at the command of the
emperor.
Notwithftanding all this, however, it cannot be denied, that the feudal con-
ilitution of the lombards, which was imitated by feveral nations of Europe, en-
tailed difaftrous confequences on this quarter of the Globe. It could not be
otherwife than pleafmg to the biftiops of Rome, that the power of the ftate
Ihould be divided among valfals, abfolute in tlieir own territories, and conned-
ed with their fupreme lord by feeble bands ; for, according to the old maxim,
* divide, and govern,' they were thus enabled to profit by every diforder. Dukes,
counts, and barons, might be inftigated to revolt againft their feudal chief;
and the church could eafily reap confiderable gains from rude feudatories and
foldiers, in reward of it's abfolutions. The feudal conftitution was the ancient
pillar of the nobility ; and at the fame time it was the ladder, by which men
in office afcended to hereditary pofleflions, and even to the fovcreignty itfelf.
This might be lc6 injurious to Italy : for, in this long civilised country, enjoy-
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Chap. II.] Kingdoms of the Oßrogoth and Lombards. 537
ing a near iatercourfc with the greeks, africans, and afiatics, cities, arts, ma-
nufaftures, and trade, could pever be wholly annihilated, or the yet un-
obliterated roman charafter completely effaced though even in Italy the
feudal divifion of lands contained the gcrmes of innumerable difturbances,
and was one of the principal caufes, why this fine country could sever attain a
ftate of permanent confiftence after the time of the romans. In other countries
we fliall find the application of the feudal law of Lombardy, the feeds of which
were contained in the conftitution of every other germanic nation, far more in-
jurious. Since the time of Charlemagne, who added Lombardy to his poffef-
fions, and tranfmitted it as an hereditary portion to his children ; fince the
roman imperial title, too, unfortunately came into Germany, and this poor land»
throughout which uniformity of fentiment could never prevail, had to draw
with Italy in the dangerous harnefs of numerous and various feudal bands ; and
before an emperor had recommended the written law of Lombardy, and added
it to the juftinian code ; the conftitution, that formed it's bafe, was certainly
not calculated for the advantage of many diftridts, bare of towi>s, and poor in
arts. Owing to the ignorance and prejudices of the times, the law of the lom-
bards at length paifed for the general feudal law of the empire : and thus thefe
people ftill furvive in their cuftoms, which, properly^ (peaking, were raked out
of their aflies to be condenfed into laws *.
The ftate of the church, likewife, was much afTeÄed by this conftitution»
At firft the lombards, as well as the goths, were arians ; but when Gregory the
great fucceeded in bringing over queen Theodolinda, the mufe of her nation,
to the orthodox faith, the zeal of the new converts foon difplayed itfelf in good
works. Kings, dukes» counts, and barons, emulated each other, in building
convents, and endowing the church with ample additions to it*s patrimony.
The church of Rome enjoyed pofleffions of this kind firom Sicily to Mount
Cenis. For as the fiefs of temporal lords were hereditary, why fliould not
thofe of the fpiritual be the fame, who had to provide for an eternity of fuc-
ceffors ? Every church acquiced with it's patrimony fome faint for a protec-
tor; and men had continually to gain the favour of this patron, as an inter-
ceffor with God. His image and his relics, his feftival and his prayers, worked
miracles ; thefe miracles produced frefti prefents ; fo that what with the con-
tinual gratitude of the faint, on the one hand, and that of the feudatories, their
* Exclufive of thofe who have treated of the lent in it's kind, is very valuable with refpeA to
hiftory of laws in general, or in particular, the laws of the nations that have ruled in Italy«
Giannone's Hiftory of Naples, a work excel-
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S5S PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIIL
wives, and children, on the other, there was no fuch tiling as ftriking a balance
of the account. The feudal conftitution itfclf paffcd in fome meafure into the
church. For as the duke took precedence of the count, the biiliop whoikt
by the duke's fide would maintain precedence of a count's bifhop : thus the
temporal dukedom became the diocefe of an archbiihop^ the blihops of fubor-
dinate cities were converted into fuffragans of a fpiritual duke. The wealthy
abbots, as fpiritual barons, endeavoured to withdraw thcmfelves from the ju-
rifdidion of their biftiops, and render themfelves independent. The bifliop of
Rome, who thus became a fpiritual emperor, or king, willingly allowed this
independance, and prepared the principles, which the falfe Ifidorus afterwards
publicly eftabliflied for the whrole catholic church. The numerous feftivals,
afts of devotion, maffes, and offices, demanded a multitude of clerical func-
tionaries : the treafures of the church, and facerdotal garments, which were
fuited to the barbarian tafte, required their facriftan ; the patrimonial poffef-
fions, their reftors ; all ultimately terminating in a fpiritual and temporal pa-
tron, a pope and emperor j fo that church and ftate rivalled each other in one
feudal conftitution. The fail of the lombard kingdom was the birth of a pope,
and with him of a new emperor, whence the whole conftitution of Europe al-
fumed a new form. For the face of the World is not changed by conqueft
alone; but ftill more by new views of things, by new difpofitions, laws, and
rights.
CHAPTER III.
Kingdoms of the Allemans^ Burgundians^ and Franks.
The allemans were one of the rudeft of the geffhaix nations. At firft plun-
derers of the roman borders, and ravagers of their towns and fortreffes ; as the
roman power declined, they feized on the eaftern part of Gaul ; and with it,
and their ancient poffeffions, became mafters of a fine country, to which they
might have given as excellent a conftitution. But this the allemans
^' never did ; for they were overpowered by the franks ; their king fell in bat-
tle; and the people fubmitted to the yoke, or were difperfcd. At length, un-
der the fovereignty of the franks, they obtained a duke ; in a fliort time
53^ after, chriftianity; and laftly, written laws. Thefe are ftill extant, and dif-
play the fimple, rude charafter of the people. Under the laft of the mero-
vingian line of kings, their duke was taken from them, and they were con^
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Chap. 111.] Kingdoms of the AllemanSy BurprndiaHs^ and Franks. 539
founded in the mafs of the francic nations. If the german fwifs be the defcend-
ants of thefcallemans, they have the merit of having afecond time cleared the
forcfts of the Alps, and gradually adorned them with huts, villages, towns»
towers, churches, convents, and cities. At the (ame time we muft not
forget tho(e, by whom they were converted, St. Columbanus and his com-
panions, the name of one of whom, St. Gall, is to be recorded as a benefador
of all Europe, by the foundation of his monaftery. We owe the prefervation
of many claffic authors to the inftitution of thefe irifli monks, whofe hermitage
amid barbarous nations was a (burce of moral improvement, if not a feat of
learning, and fliines like a ftar amid thefe gloomy regions *.
The burgundians became a gentler people, after their alliance with the ro-
mans. They fufiered themfelves to be fixed by them in towns, and were not
averfe to agriculture, arts, and trade. The romans having bellowed oa them
a province in Gaul, they lived peaceably, cultivated coru and the vine, cleared
the woods, and would probably have eftablifbed a flourifiiing kingdom in their
delightful country, which ultimately extended to the borders of Provence and
the Leman lake, if the haughty and plundering Qanks woidd have allowed them
room for it. Unfortunately, however, that Clotilda, who induced the franks
to embrace the chriftian faith, was a burgundian princefi, who, to expiate
fome family crimes, ruined both it and her paternal kingdom. This
ilate exilled fcarcely a century, the laws of the buiigundians during ^^^
which, with fome determinations of their ecclefiallical councils, are ilill ex*
tant ; but it has more particularly perpetuated it's name by the cultivation of
the land about the Leman lake, and in the gallic provinces. This country it
rendered a Paradife, while others were yet no more than wildernelTes. It's
legiflator, Gundebald, rebuilt Geneva ; and his walls for more than a thoufand
years have prote£ked a city, the influence of which on Europe has been greater
than that of many extenfive r^ions. In the land it cultivated the human
mind has been more than once fired, and imagination foared with lofty wing.
Even under the franks the bui^undians retained their ancient conflitution :
accordingly, on the fall of the carlovingian race, they were the firft who chofc
themfelves a king. This new fbte continued above two hundred years;
and formed no bad example for other nations, to eftablifh their own inde-
pendance.
• Every thing refpeaing the kingdoms and zerland/ Leipfic, 1786, &c. ; ib that I may
nations here mentioned, in which Switzerland call this book a library of hiftorical informa-
is any way concerned, will be found to receive tion. A hiftory of the origin of the nations
illuftration, or judicious remark» in John Muel- of Europe, from the pen of this writer« would
ler's Gefibitbtiür SebwtJft, ' Hifiory of Swit- probably be the iirft in it's kind.
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540 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooicXVIIL
It is now time to fpeak of that kingdom» which put an end to Co many
others, the kingdom of the franks. After repeated attempts, tfaefe at length
fucceeded in eftablifhing in Gaul that ftate, which, from a üight banning»
iirft conquered the allemans^ then gradually drove the vifigoths into Spain,
fubjugated the britons in Armorica, reduced the kingdom of the buigundians
under fubjedtion, and barbarouily deilroyed the ftate of Thuringia. When
the declining royal houfes of Merovaeus and Clovis had valiant mayors of Üieir
palaces, Charles Martel repelled the arabs, and fubdued the frifons : and when
the mayors of the palace had afcended the throne, Charlemagne foon arofe,
by whom the kingdom of the lombards was deftroyed ; Spain, as &r as the
£bro, with Majorca and Minorca, conquered i the fouth of Germany, to Pan-
nonia, and the north, to the Elbe and the Eyder, fubjugated ; the imperial
title transficrred from Rome to his own countiy ; and the nations bordering on
his empire, the huns and ilavians, kept in fear and fubmiffion. A mighty em-
pire ! more powerful than any one fince the time of the romans had been ; and
equally memorable to all Europe in it's rife, and in it's fall. How did the
kingdom of the franks acquire this pre-eminence over all it's contemporaries ?
!♦ TießuatioH efthe country of the franki was more fecurey than that of the
pojfeßons of any of their pandering brethren. When they entered Gaul, tls ro-
man empire was already overturned ; and the moft valiant of their brethren,
who had gone before them, were either provided for, or difperfed. They found
an eafy vidory over the enfeebled gauls ; who, diflieartened by repeated mif-
fortune, readily fubmitted to their yoke ; and the lad: remains of the romans,
feared at their approach, fled before them like Ihadows. When Clovis with
tyrannic hand cleared the country for his new poflefTions, and made free
with the life of every neighbour, from whom he had any thing to dieadi
he foon had the coaft clear both before and behind him, and his Fiance
remüned as an ifland, furrounded by mountains, rivers, feas, and countries that
he had depopulated. After the allemans and thuringians were conquered, no
people inclined to migration appeared in his rear. From the (axons and frifons
he contrived to remove all deiire of migrating, in a ferocious manner. His
kingdom lay fortunately remote both from Conftantinople, and from Rome : for
if the franks had had anything to do with Italy it is probable, that, from the vile
morals of their kings, the treachery of their nobles, and the negligent govern-
ment of the kingdom, previous to the elevation of the mayors of the palace,
they would have experienced no better fote, than thoie worthier nations, the
goths and lombards.
2. Cdovis was thefirß orthodox king among the barbarians. This was of more
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Chap. III.] Kingdoms of the AUemanSy Burgundians^ and Franks. 541
advantage to him, than all the virtues. Into what circle of faints did this in-
troduce the firftborn fon of the church ! Into a congregation, the influence of
which extended over all the weft of european chriftendom. Gaul and roman
Germany were full of bifliops. They fat in feemly order along the courfe of
the Rhine, and on the banks of the Danube. Mcntz, Triers, Cologne, Be-
fancon, Worms, Spires, Strafburg, Conftance, Metz, Toul, Verdun, Tongres,
Lorca, Trent, Brixen, Bafil, and other ancient feats of chriftianity, employed
the orthodox king as a bulwark againft heretics and heathens. At the firft coun-
cil held by Clovis in Gaul wereprefent thirty-two bifliops, among whom were five
metropolitans: a compaA fpiritual body politic, and very efiicient for his
purpofes. By them the arian kingdom of the burgundians was given to the
franks: the mayors of the palace courted their favour; Boniface, bifliop of
Mentz, crowned the ufurper king of the franks ; and as early as Charles Mar-
tel's time, the patriciate of Rome, with the guardianfliip of the church»
was a matter in agitation. At the fame time thefe guardians of the church
cannot be reproached with neglefi: of their ward. They repaired the epifcopal
cities that had been ravaged, fupported their diocefes, fummoned the bifliops
to their diets, and in Germany the church is greatly indebted to the kings of
the franks at the expenfe of the nation. Ihe archbifliops and bifliops of
Salzburg, Wurtzburg, Eichftadt, Augfl^urg, Freifingen, Ratiflx)n, Paflau,
Ofnabruck, Bremen, Hamburg, Halberftadt, Minden, Verden, Paderborn,
Hilderfheim, and Munfter, the abbots of Fulda, Hirfchfeld, Kempten, Kor-
vey, Elwangen, St. Emeran, and others, efl:abliflied themfelves through their
means: and to them thefe fpiritual lords are indebted for their feats in the diets,
with their lands and vaflals« The king of France is the firftborn fon of the
church : the emperor of Germany, his younger ftep-brotber, only inherited the
guardianfliip of the church from him.
3. Under fuch circumflancesy thefirß imperial conßitution of a germannic people could
he more confpicuoufiy difplayed in Gaul^ than in Italy ^ Spain^ or Germany itfelf The
firft ftep to a monarchy governing ^1 around it was made by Clovis ; and his ex-
ample was filently adopted as the rule of the ftate. In fpite of the repeated divi-
fion of the kingdom ; in fpite of it's internal fliocks from the crimes of the
royfl houfe, and the unbridled conduft of the great 5 it was never deftroyed :
for the church was interefted in upholding the monarchy. Valiant and able«
officers of the crown wielded the fceptre of the feeble kings 5 conqueft went for-
ward ; and it was deemed much better to permit the extin&ion of the race of
Clovis, than to fuSer the fall of a ftate» which was indifpenfable to all romifli
i;hrift%ndom. For as the conftitution of germannic nations in fadfc every where
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54a PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIIL
depended on the king and officers of the crown pcrfonally; and ftill more
particularly in this kingdom, placed between arabs and heathens; all united
to maintain, in this frontier empire, that mound againil them, which the
houfe of Pepin de Hcriftal had happily formed. We have to thank him and
his brave poftcrity, that a flop was put to the conquefts of the moors, as
well as to the progrefs of the northern and eadem nations ; that a glimmering
of fcience at leaft was prefervcd on this fide of the Alps ; and lallly, that a
political fyftem of the german kind was eftablißied in Europe, to which other
nations were ultimately obliged to accede, cither voluntarily or by compulfion.
As Charlemagne was the head of this branch, to which Europe is Co much in-
debted, his pifture may ferve us for thofe of all the reft *.
Charlemagne defcended from officers of ftate. His father became, what
he was not born« a king. Of courle his ideas were fuch as he derived from the
houfe of his &ther, and t)ie conftitution of his kingdom. This conftitution be
(ought to carry to perfection, as he was educated in it, and deemed it of all
thebeft; for every tree grows in it's own foil. Charles clothed himlelfasa
frank, and was a frank in his heart : aHuredly, therefore, we cannot better
learn to appreciate the conftitution of his people, than from the manner in
which he viewed and treated it. He fummoned diets, and did with them
whatever he pleafed : he iftued falutary laws for the ftate, and capitularies, but
with the affent of the empire. He refpefted the different orders in it after his
manner ; and permitted conquered nations to retain their own laws, as long as
it could be done. He was defirous of uniting them ail in one body, and had
fpirit enough, to impart to it animation. Dukes, from whom danger was tobe
apprehended, hefufTcred to become extinft i and filled their places with count*,
holding offices from the court. He appointed commiffioncrs {mJßsJ to vifit
both thefe and the bifliops; and took every method of checking the defpotifm
of rapacious iatraps, infolcnt nobles, and idle monks. On the dcfmefncs of his
crown he was not an emperor, but a father of a family ; and he would willingly
have been the fame throughout his whole empire, to animate every indolent
member of it with the fpirit of induftry and order : but here the barbarilln of
the age, and the ecclefiaftical and military fpirit of the franks, too fircquently
oppofed his endeavours. Scarcely ever mortal fo. ftriäly obeyed the laws of
equity ; except where the intereft of the church or the ftale prompted him to
• In the late Gifihicbtt dts Rtgitrung Kttrh as I have here given. The whole of chat acoce
des Grtffint * Hiftory of the Reign of Charle- work it a €0iiuncnuu7 on the brief iketch here
snagne,' by Hegewifch, Hamburgh, 1791, I attempted,
think I difcover the (ame view of his intentions.
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Chap. III.] Kingdoms of the Aiiemansy Burpmdiafu^ Mtid Franks. 545
aftsof violence and injuftice. He loved fidelity and aäivity in his fervice;
and would have looked indignant, had he returned, on the attempt of
making his ma/k give a fanftion to a lethargic titulary conftitution»
But the wheel of Fate is in continual revolution. The race of his pro-
genitors fprung from fervants of the crown; and after his death other
fervants of infefiour talents unworthily wielded his fceptre, ruined his king*
dom, deftroycd the labours of his life, and fruftrated thefchemes of his intelli-
gent mind. Pofterity inherited from him, what he did his utmoft to fup-
prcfs or improve, vaflals, orders of nobility, and a barbarous pomp of francic
court parade. He converted dignities into offices; after him thefe offices foon
became again empty dignities.
From his forefathers Charles likewife inherited a thirft of conqucfl: : for, as
they had been decidedly fuccefsful againft the frifons, allemans, arabs, and lom-
bards, and it was almoft an eftablifhed maxim of (late witli Clovis, to fecure
the countries he conquered by the depreffion of their neighbours j he proceed-
ed with giant ftej^s on the fame courfe. Perfonal quarrels gave birth to wars,,
of which one followed another, fo as to occupy the greater part of his reign, that
continued near half a century. The lombards, arabs, bavarians, hungarians,
and Flavians, felt this military fpirit of the franks ; and fliU more the faxons,.
againft whom, toward the end of a three and thirty years war, Charles fcrupled
not to employ very violent means. He thus fo far obtained his object, that
with his empire he eftablifhed the firft folid monarchy throughout Europe : for
whatever troubles the normans, ilavians, and hungarians, afterwards gave his
fucceffors ; and however the great empire might be enfeebled, difturbed, and
broken, by partitions and internal diflenfions j a ftop was put to all future ta-
tarian immigrations, from Pannonia to the Elbe. The empire of the franks
eflabliflied by him, againft- which the huns and arabs had already foundered,
proved to them an immovable corner ftone.
In his religion and love of fcience, likewife, Charles was a frank. Political
caufes had rendered the catholic profeffion hereditary in the crown from the
time of Clovis : and when the power came into the hands of Charlemagne's
family, they were the more confirmed in it, as the church alone aided them to
afcend the throne, and they were formally anointed by the bifliop of Rome
himfelf. Charles, when a boy of twelve years old, had feen the holy pontif in
his father's houfe, and had then received from his hands the inunction to his
future empire : the converfion of Germany had long been carried on under the
proteftion of francic fovereigns, and often with their voluntary affiftancej as
to the weft chriftianity was the ftrongeft bulwark againft the pagan barbarians :
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544 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIII.
how, then, could Charles avoid proceeding in the fiime towards the north, and
at laft converting the faxons with the fword ? As an orthodox fiank, he had
no idea of the conftitution he thus deftroyed among them : he carried on the
pious work of the chirrch for thf fecurity of his empire, and perfevered in the
gallant and meritorious fervices of his fathers toward the pope and bifliops.
His fucccflbrs, particularly when the chief empire of the World had fixed itfelf
in Germany, followed his fteps ; and thus flavians, wendes, poles, pruffiaos,
livonians, and efthonians, were converted in fuch a manner, that none of thefc
baptized nations ventured to make any farther incurfions into the holy german
empire. If, however, the holy and bleflfed Charles, as the golden bull has %lcd
him, faw what has fprung from the eftablifhments he formed for the promotion
of religion and fcience, from his wealthy biflioprics, canonries, and monaftic
fchools, he would wave his francic fword and fceptre over many of them with
no friendly hand.
4. Laßly^ it is undeniable^ that the bißop of Rome Jet his feal upon all this^ and
conferred the crown as it were on the empire of the franks. He had been a friend
to the franks from the time of Clovis : he had taken refuge with Pepin, and re-
ceived from him as a gift the whole booty of the conquered lands of the lom-
bards. After this he had recourfe to the affiftance of Charlemagne; and being
viftorioufly eftablifhed by him in Rome, he gave him in return, on the famous
chriftmafs night, a new prefent, the roman imperial crown. Charles appeared
ftaggered and abaflied ; but the joyful acclamations of the people reconciled him
to this new honour : and, indeed, as it was accounted by all european nations
the higheft dignity in the World, who could be more worthy of it than this
frank ; the greatqft monarch of the weft j king of France, Italy, Germany, and
Spain ; the effeAual proteftor of the fee of Rome ; refpefted by every king in
Europe, and even by the khalif of Bagdad ? Accordingly he foon entered into
a treaty with the emperor of Conftantinople ; and took the title of roman em-
peror, though he refided at Aix-la-Chapelle, or travelled about his extcnfive
dominions.
Charlemagne deferved the crown : O that it had been buried with him,
at leaft for Germany ! For, when he was no more, of what advantage was
it on the head of the good and weak Lewis ? and when Lewis was com-
pelled prematurely to divide his empire, how oppreffive was it on the heads of
each of his fuccefTors I The empire was torn to pieces : it's irritated neigh-
bours, normans, flavians, and huns, rofe up, and ravaged the land ; the law of
the ftronger prevailed ; the diets of the empire fell into decay. Brother bafely
warred againft brother^ father, againft fons and the ecclefiaftics, with the
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Chap. III.] Kin^dms of the AllemanSy BurgmiJians, and Franks. 545
bifliop of Rome, were their unworthy umpires. Bifliops grew up into princes :
the incurfions of the barbarians drove every thing into the power of thofe who
refided in fortreffes. In Germany, France, and Italy, governors and officers of
ftateerefted themfelves into petty fovereigns : anarchy, treachcrj', cruelty, and
difcord, every where prevailed. Eighty-eight years after Charles had affumed the
imperial crown, his legitimate race was extinguifhed in the deepeft mifery ; and
before he had tenanted the grave a ccntuiy, his laft fpurious imperial (hoot
was cut off. No one, but a man like him, could rule an empire of fuch vaft
extei^t, of fuch an artificial conftitution, compofed of fuch difcordant parts, and
endowed with fuch pretenfions. The moment the foul had quitted this giant
frame, it's parts began to diifolve, and it remained for centuries a putrefying
carcafe.
Reft in peace, great king ! too great for a long train of thy fucceflbrs. A
thoufand years are elapfed, and the Rhine and the Danube are not yet united,
though thy hand had already begun the work for a trifling objed. By thee
inftitutions were founded for education and fcience in thy days of barba-
rifm : by aftertimes they have been abufcd, and are abufed füll. Thy capitu-
laries, compared with many oi fubfequent ages, are divine laws. By thee the
bards of ancient times were coUedked : by thy fon Lewis they were defpifed
and fold, and their memory in confcquence for ever annihilated. By thee the
German language was cherifhed, and improved to the utmoft of thy power : men
of learning were afTembled round thee from the rcmoteft lands : Alcuin, thy
philofopher, Angilbert, the Homer of the academy of thy court, and the ex-
cellent Eginhart, thy fecretary, were beloved by thee : thy chief opponents were
ignorance, inveterate barbarifm, and indolent pride. Perhaps thou wilt again
appear at the end of the eighteenth century, and alter that machine, which began
at the end of the eighth. Till then we will honour thy relics, abufe thy eftabliöi-
ments according to law, and defpife thy old francic indufby. Great Charles, thy
empire, which fell immediately after thee, is thy monument : France, Germany,
and Lombardy are it's ruins.
CHAPTER IV.
Kingdoms of the Saxons^ Normans^ and Danes.
The hiftory of thegerman nations in the heart of the continent poflTefTes a cer-
tain degree of famenefs : the maritime nations, on the contrary, to which we
now come, were more rapid in their attacks, more barbarous in their ravages, and
more unfettled in their poffef&ons; but then we difcern among them, as amid
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54« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, {BookXVIIL
the tempefts of the ocean, men of the higheft courage, enterprizes of the moR
fuccefsful kind, and kingdoms the genius of which ftill breathes the firefb air of
thefea.
Already in the middle of the fifth century, the angk>-faxons, who had
long carried on the trade of war and plunder by fea, repaired to the aid
of the britons, from the northern (bores of Germany. Hengift and Horü
(ftallion and mare) were their leaders : and as they eafily overcame the enemies
of the britons, the pids and Caledonians, and were pleafed with the country,
they invited over more oC their brethren ; refting not, till, after a hundred and
fifty years of the moft favage war and horrible defolation, all Britain, Wales and
Cornwall excited, became their own.
The cimbri, who were confined to thefe parts, were never (b fortunate as to
jffue from their mountains, and reconquer their ancient country, as was done by
the vifigoths in Spain ; the favage faxons being foon fecured and confirmed in
their pofleilion as catholic chriftians. For it was not long after the eftablifh-
ment of the firft faxon kingdom of Kent, that the daughter of an orthodox
king of Paris prepared her heathen fpoufe Ethelbert to embrace chriftianity,
which Auftin the monk, armed with a filver crofs, introduced into Elng-
597- . .
land with great folemnity. Gregory the great, then holding the fee of
Rome, who burned with ardour to introduce chriftianity into every nation, par-
ticularly by the manis^e of orthodox princeffes with heathen kings, fent hitn
thither; determined his cafes of confcience ; and made him the firft arch-
bi(h(^ of this fortunate ifland, which, from the time of Ina, was liberal
of it's tributary pence to St. Peter. Scarcely any other country in Europe has
been fo abundantly provided with convents and ecclefiaftical foundations as
England, yet literature reaped lefs advantage from them than might have been
expected. In this country chriftianity fprouted not from the roots of an ancient
_apoftolical church, as in Spain, France, Italy, and even in Ireland : the Gofpel
was brought to the rude iaxons in a new form by modern romifh ftrangers.
Thcenglifh monks had afterwards fo much the more merit, however, in foreigfl
converfions ; and would have been of confidcrable fervice to the hiftory of their
country, at leaft in monaftic records, if thefe had efcaped the ravages of the danes.
Seven kingdoms of faxon barbarians, unequal in extent, on a peninfula
of moderate fize, entangled by chriftian and heathen warfare, exhibit no
pleafing pifture. And yet this chaotic ftate endured for more than three hun-
dred years, during which we perceive only the occafional glimmering of fomc
ecclefiaftical foundations and ordinances, or the commencement of a written
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Chap. IV.] Km^doms of the Saxons^ Normans^ and Danes. 547
kw, as thofe of Ethel bert and Ina. At length the fevcn kingdoms were
united under Egbert $ and more than one of the fubfequent monarchspof-
feffed fufficient fpirit and power, to have rendered their government flourifli-
ing, had not the incurfions of the normans and danes, who roamed the fea
with frefh defire of plunder, prevented any permanent good either on the
coaft of France or England. The injury they did is beyond expreflion ; the
barbarities they exercifed arc unutterable : and if Charles treated the faxons,
if the angles treated the britons and cimbri, with cruelty, their aäs of injuftice
toward thcfe people were avenged on their poftcrity, till the whole fury of the war-
like north was exhaufted* But as the greateft minds difplay themfelves in the
moft turbulent ftorms, on the call of necefiity j fo England has to boaft among
others her Alfred, a pattern for kings in a time of extremity, a bright ftar in
the hiftory of mankind.
Having received the royal unftion, while yet a child, from the hands of pope
Leo IV, he remained unfchooled, till the defire of reading faxon heroic poems
fo excited his induftry, that he proceeded from them to latin authors : and
with thefe he calmly converfed till his 22d year, when the death of his brother
called him to a throne, and to every danger, with which a throne could be fur«
rounded. The danes were in pofleffion of the country j and as they obferved
the courage and good fortune of the young king, they fo united their forces in
repeated attacks, that Alfred, who had fought eight battles with them in
one year, who had repeatedly obliged them tofwear on holy relics to pre- ^^'
ferv« peace, and who was not lefs mild and juft as a conqueror than brave and
wary in fight, at length found himfelf reduced to feek fecurity in a pea-
fant's garb, and become the unknown fcrvant of a herdfman's wife, °7^-
Still, however, his courage deferted him not. With a few followers he con-
ftrufted himfelf a habitation in the midft of a morafs, which he called the ifle
of Ethelingey, or of Nobles, and which confliituted the whole of his domi-
nions. Here he remained above a year, neither idle, nor debilitated. He
made incurfions upon the enemy, as from an invifible caftle ; and fupported
himfelf and his followers by the booty he made: till at length one of his ad*
herents took from the danes their magic ftandard, the raven, which he confi-
dered as the omen of fuccefs. Clad as a harper he now entered the camp of
the danes, and enchanted them with his melodbus fongs. He was conduded
to the tent of the prince, and every where beheld their profound fecurity, and
lawlefs diflipation. On this he returned ; difpatchcd fecret meffengcrs to his
friends, to acquaint them, that he was ftill alive j and requefted them to meet
him in the corner of a wood. A fmall army affembled, and received him with
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548 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIIL
joy. With this he inftantly fell on the corelefs and affrighted danes ; de-
feated them ; funounded them ; and made of thefe his prifoners of war allies
and colonifts, with whom he peopled the countries of Northumbria, and Eaft
Anglia, which had been laid wafte ; their king was baptized, and Alfred was
4iis fponfor at the font. Alfred employed the iirft moments of tranquillity, in
repelling other enemies, who diftrefled the land in fwarms. He reduced the
diftrafted ftate to order with incredible fpeed ; rebuilt the cities, that had been
deftroyed; formed himfelf an army; and foon created a naval force, (b that in
a fliort time the coafts were protefted by a hundred and twenty (hips. On the
firft report of an attack, he was ready wiOi affiftance : and at a moment of
need the whole country refembled a camp, where each knew his pcA.
Thus he firuftrated every attempt of his predatory enemies as long as he lived ;
and gave the ftate naval and military forces, arts and fciences, cities, laws, and
order. He wrote books ; and was the inflruftor of the natbn he protefted.
Equally great in private and m public life, he apportioned his hours, his occu-
pations, and his revenue; and gained time for recreation, as well as for royal
beneficence. Living a century after Charlemagne, he was perhaps a greater
man, in a circle happily more limited : and though under hb fucceflbrs many
diforders were occafioned by the incurfions <^ the danes, and not lefs by the
rcftlcflhels of the clergy, as on the whole no fecond Alfred ever arofe among
them ; ftiU, from the good principles of it's conftitution, even in early times,
England has not been wantmg in excellent kings; and even the attacks of it's
maritime enemies kept it alert and prepared. Among thele may be reckoned
Athclftan, Edgar, and Edmund Ironfide : and if England were tributary to
the danes under the laft, it muft be afcribed only to the treachery of the no-
bles. Canute the great, indeed, was acknowledged as kmg; but thb nor-
thern vidtor had only two fucccffors. England refumed it's liberty ; and it
was probably to it's misfortune, that the danes permitted the peaceable Edward
to remain in tranquillity. He coUcftcd laws, and left others to govern : the
manners of the normans came over to England from the coaft of France ; and
William the conqueror cfpied his time. One fingle battle placed him on the
throne, and gave the land a new conftitution. Of the normans it is incum-
bent on us to take a nearer view ; fince to their manners not England alone,
but a great part of Europe alfo is indebted, for the fplendour of it's fpirit of
chivalry.
Some of the northern germannic tribes, (axons, frifons, and franks, frequented
the fea in the earlieft times ; and danes, norw^ans, and fcandinavians, under
various names, were ftill more bold in their maritime expeditions. The anglo-^
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Chap. IV.] Kingdoms of the Saxonsy Normans^ and Danes. 549
faxons and jutes pafled over into Britain j and as the kings of the franks, particu-
larly Charlemagne, extended their conqucfts northwards, ftill bolder bands con-
tinued to engage in naval enterprifcs, till at length the terrour of the norman
name by fea became almoft greater than that of the allied warriours, the mar-
comans, franks, allemans, &c., had ever been by land.
Were I to enumerate the naval heroes, whofe exploits are celebrated in the
fongs and tales of the north, hundreds of renowned adventurers would fwell the
catalogue. The names of fuch, however, as have diftinguilhed themfelves by
difcovcring countries, or laying the foundation of kingdoms, muft not be pafled
over J- and the extenfive fpace over which thefe haye fpread themfelves is
aftonilhing. To the eaft we find Rorick, or Roderic, with his brothers, g,
who founded a kingdom in Novogorod, and thus laid the bafis of the
ruflian empire j Ofkold and Diar, who cftabliflied a government in Kiow, 865.
which was afterwards united with that of Novogorod; and Ragnwald, 882.
who fettled at Polockzki on the Dwina, the progenitor of the grand- 990,
dukes of Lithuania. To the north, Naddod was driven by a ftorm on 861.
the coaft of Iceland, and thus difcovered an ifland, which foon became 875.
the afylum of the noblcft families of Norway, certainly the pureft nobility in
Europe, where the fongs and tales of the north were preferved, and augmented
by frefli additions, and which for more than three centuries was the feat of
lovely and not unpoliflied freedom. To the weft, the Faroe iflands, Orkneys^
Shetland, and Hebrides, were frequently vifited by the normans, in part g,
peopled, and nuny of them were long governed by northern earls, fo
that the remoteft nooks were infufficient to proteft the retreating gacl from the
germannic nations. In the time of Charlemagne they eftablifhed them-
felves in Ireland i where Dublin fell to the fliare of Olave ; Waterford, to
Stirik J and Limmeric, to Ywar. To England they were terrible under the
name of dancs ; and not only poflcfled Northumberiand, intermixed with g
faxon earls, for more than two hundred years, partly independent, partly to
in fief; but governed the whole country under Canute, Harold, and Har- 1066..
dicanute. The coafts of France they had infefted ever fince the fixth cen- 514
tury; and the apprchenfions of Charlemagne, who foreboded much dan- to
ger to his country from them, were abundant lyjuftified foon after his death, '^i^'
The ravages they committed, both in France and Germany, not only on ^^^^
the coafts, but wherever the rivers enabled them to penetrate, are inexpreflible; fo
that moft of the cities and cftablifhmefnts formed by the romans, or by Charle-
magne, were brought by them to a mifcrable end; till at length Rolf, on his bap-
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550 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIII.
tifm chriftened Robert, became the firfl: duke of Normandy, and the pro-
genitor of more than one royal family. From him defcendcd William the
conqueror, who gave England a new conftitution ; and in confequence of whofe
plans England and France were involved in war for four centuries, which
ferved wonderfully to exercife the powers of both nations. Thofc nor-
mans, who, with almoft incredible courage and fuccefs, wrefted from the arabs
Apulia, Calabria, Sicily, and for a time even Jerufalemand Antioch, were ad-
venturers from the duchy founded by Rolf; and the fucccflTors of Tancrcd,
who afterwards wore the crowns of Sicily and Apulia, defcended fix>m him.»
Were all the bold deeds of the normans to be enumerated, performed
^ ' by them as pilgrims or adventurers, in the fervice of Conftantinople, or
in their travels, in almoft every land, and in almoft every fea, from Greenland
to Africa; and from America to the Levant, the narrative would have the
air of romance. For our purpofe it will be fufScient, to trace the principal
confequences of thefe from the charaäer of the people.
Rude as the inhabitants of the northern (bores muft have long remained, in
confequence of their foU and climate, their inflitutions and way of life \ llill they
concealed a g^rme, particularly in their maritime occupations, which would fbou
have (hot forth highly flourifhing branches in a lefs fevere climate. Strength
and courage ; activity and expertnefs in all the exercifes, to which the epithet
of knightly was fubfequently annexed; a ilrong fenfe of honour and noblenefs
of birth ; yrith the wellknown northern efteem for the female iex, as the prize
of valour, handfomenefs, and worth in man; were qualities, that could not
£dl to endear thefe northern pirates to the inhabitants of the fouth. In the
interiour parts of the land the laws grafp eyeiy things each rude efiufioa of the
will mufl either become a law among the reft» or fink by it's own wei^t.
On the wild element of the ocean, to which thie fway of the monarch of the
land does not extend, the mind receives animation: it roams in quefl of war,
and of booty, which the youth is eager to bring home to his intended bride,
the hufband to his wife and children, as marks of their prowefs; while a third
feeks more folid ajcquifuions in diflant lands. To be good for nothing, was in
the north the grand vice, punifhed here with contempt, hereafter with the
p^ns of Hell; while valour and honour, friendfliip to death, and a chivalrous
refpeft towajrds women, were the virtues, which, from tlic concurrence of va-
rious occ^fional circumflances, contributed much to the gallantry, as it was
called, of the middle ages.
The normans fettled in a french province, and Rolf, their leader, married a
daughter of jthe king : many of his comrades followed his example, and formed
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Chap. IV.] Kingdoms of the Saxons ^ Normans^ and Danes. 551
alliances with the nobleft families of the land : the court of Normandy foon
became the moft brilliant in all the weft. As chriftians they could no longer
pnriiie their piratical expeditions againft chriftian ftates; but they received
and civilized fuch of their brethren as followed them, fo that this coaft, happily
iituate, was the central and ennobling point of the feafaring normans. As the
anglofiixon monarchs, oppreffed by the danes, had recourfe to them for aflift-
ance; and Edward the Confeffor, who was educated among the normans, gave
them hopes even of fucceeding to the englifh throne : as William the Conqueror
won the kingdom by a fmgle battle, and immediately filled the chief pofts of it,
both civil and ecclefiaftical, with normans : the norman language and manners
foon became the polite manners and language of the englifh court. What
thefe rude conquerors had learned in France, and aflimilated with their own
nature, pafled over to Britain, even to a rigid feudal conftitution and foreft law.
And though many laws of the Conqueror were afterwards abolifbed, and the more
mild anglofaxon of former times revived; the fpirit inftilled into the manners and
language of the nation by the norman families could not be again obliterated :
hence an inoculated ihoot of the latin language ftill flouriflies in the englilh»
The britifh nation would fcarcely have become what it was before others, had
it remained at reft on it's ancient lees : but the danes agitated it a long while,
and the normans drew it over the iea into loi^ wars with France. Here it*^
talents were exercifed ; the- conquered became conquerors ; and at length,
after various revolutions, a political ftrufture appeared, which probably would
never have arifen from the anglofaxon monaftic economy. An Edmund, or
an Edgar, would by no means have withftood pope Hildebrand, as he was
withftood by William ; and the englifli knights would not have rivalled the
frcnch in the croifades, had not the normans fet in motion the internal fprings
of the nation, anil various circumftances improved it by force. The engrafting
of nations at proper feafons appears to be as indifpcnfable to the progrcfs of ,
mankind, as tranfplanting to the produftions of the earth, or inoculation to
the wild fruit tree. The beft, confined to the fame fpot, will at length decay
and die.
The normans were not equally fortunate in their lefs permanent pofleflion
of Naples and Sicily, the acquifition of which is a real romance of perfonal
valour, and the fpirit of adventure. On their pilgrimages to Jcruüälem they
became acquainted with thcfe fine countries; and eighty or a hundred knights»
by fuccouring the oppreffed with their arms, laid the bafis of their fubfequent
dominion. Rainulph was the firft count of Averfa ; and three of the valiant
fons of Tancred, who alfo fortunately came over, were rewarded for their various
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S5^ PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVIII.
fcrvices againft the arabs, by being firfl: created counts, and afterward duke?,
of Apulia and Calabria. More of Tancred's fons, William the Ironanncd,
Drogo, and Humphrey, followed. Robert and Roger Guifcard conquered
Sicily from the arabs ; and Robert beftowed on his brother the crown of this
fine kingdom. Robert's fon Boemund purfued his fortune in theeaft; and
being followed thither by his father, Roger became the firft king of the two
Sicilies, invefted with both the fpiritual and temporal power. Under him and
his fucceflTors fcience put forth a few young buds in this comer of Europe:
the fchool of Salernum arofe in the midft, as it were, of the arabs and the monks
of Caflino : here jurifprudence, phyfic, and philofophy, again (bowed leaves
and (hoots, after a long winter. The norman princes maintained them(elves
valiantly, in this dangerous neighbourhood of the papal fee: they made peace
with two of the holy fiithers, when they were in their power; thus a&ing with
more prudence and vigilance than moft of the german emperors. Pity it was,
that they formed matrimonial alliances with thefe, and thus gave them a
claim to the fucceflSon: and ftill more pity, that the purpofcs of Frederic,
the la£b of the fuabian emperours, with regard to thefe countries, were fo
barbarouily fruilrated. From this period both kingdoms remained objeds of
contention to other nations j the prey of foreign conquerors and viceroys, and
above all of a nobility, who have proved, even to the pre(ent day, an obflade
to any amendment in the fbte of this once flourifliing land«
CHAPTER V.
Tie Northern Kingdoms^ and Germany.
Th s hiftory of the northern kingdoms, obfcure as it is till the eighth century,
has at leaft this advantage over the hiftory of moft european countries, that a
mythology with tales and fongs lies at the bottom of it, which may ferve as it's
philofophy. For in this we difcem the fpirit of the people, their ideas of men
and gods, and the direiftion of their inclinations and paffions, in love and
hatred, in their hopes on this fide the grave, and in their expeftations beyond
it : and fuch a philofophy of hiftory is preferved to us no where but in the
Edda, if the grecian mythology be excepted. Befides, the hiftory of the nor-
thern kingdoms muft be eminently fimple and natural j as they were expofed
to the hoftile incurfions of no foreign nation, after the finniQi tribes had been
expelled, or fubjeded; for what nation would have fought thefe regions, fubfe-
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Chap. V.] Kingdoms of the Saxons, Normans^ and Danes. 553
cucntly to the great expeditions to more fouthern countries ? Where neceffity
iflues her injunAions» men live for a long period in obedience to them: and
accordingly the germanic nations of the north remained in a ftate of freedom
and independence^ much longer than others of their brethren. Mountains and
deferts feparated the tribes from each other: lakes and rivers, forefts, paftures,
and cultivated lands, with the fea abounding in fifli, afforded them nutriment t
and fuch as the land was unable to fupport, betook themfelves to the ocean, to
feek elftwhere food and plunder. In thefc regions, as in a northern Switzer-
land, the fimplicity of primitive german manners has been long retained, and
will ftill endure, when in Germany itfelf it is become no more than an old
wife's tale.
When here, as every where elfe, in time the free inhabitants became fubjedt
to nobles ; many of the nobles became kings of the fields and deferts ; and at
length from many little kings one great monarch arofe : the courts of Denmark,
Norway, and Scandinavia, were ftill happy in this, that whoever was unwilling
to remain in fervitude might feek another land i and thus, as we have feen, all
the adjacent feas were long the refort of roving adventurers, to whom plunder
feems to have been an allowed, local occupation, like the herring or whalefiftiery.
At length the kings ftepped in for a (hare in this national trade : they con-
quered the lands of one another, or of their neighbours j but the majority of
their foreign conquefts were quickly loft. The coafts of the Baltic fuffered
by this moft feverely. The danes rcfted not, after innumerable depredations,
till they had ruined the commerce of the flavians, and their wealthy
ports, Vinetha and Julin : when they proceeded to exercife their right '^^-S*
of conqueft, and laying under contribution, againft the pruffians, cour- 1 170.
landers, livonians, and efthonians, long before the faxon hordes.
Nothing tended fo much to fupprefs this mode of life of the northern nations
as chriftianity, by which the heroic religion of Odin was totally fubverted»
Charlemagne had endeavoured to baptife the danes, as well as the faxons : but
his fon Lewis firft fucceeded in the experiment at Mentz on a petty king of
Jutland. Yet it was far from being well received by the countrymen of this
king, who ftill continued for a long time, to plunder and lay wafte the chrif-
tian ftiores : for the example of the faxons, whom chriftianity had rendered the
flaves of the franks, was too glaring before their eyes. The antipathy of thefe
people to the chriftian religion was deeply rooted j and Kettil, the pagan, chofc
rather to retire living to his tomb, three years before his death, than fubmit to
be baptifed : What difpofition could thefe inhabitants of the ifland§ and
mountains of the north entertain for the articles of faith and canonical precepts
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554 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [BookXYuL
of a hierarchical fyftem» which overturned all the tales of their foit&thers, fob-
verted the manners erf their country, and, poor as their land was, tendered
them the tributary flaves of an ecdefiaftical court in diftant Italy ? The reli-
gion of Odin was fo interwoven with their language and way of thinkii^ that
chriftianity could not introduce itfelf among them, as long as a trace of his
memory remained : the religion of the monks being an inveterate enemy to
the talcs, fongs, cuftoms, temples, aud monuments of pa^mifm; while the
minds of the people were devoted to thefe, and defpifed the pradices and le-
gends of the monks. The prohibition of labour on fundays, and of marriage
within certain degrees, failing and penance, the monadic vows, and the whole
order of priefts whom they defpifed, thefe northern people could never reconcile
to themfelves j fo that the holy men who fought to convert them, and even
their newly converted kings themfelves, had much to fuffer, if they were not
hunted out or martyred, before the pious work was accomplilhed. But «
Rome knew how to catch every nation in the net that was adapted to it,
thefe barbarians were entranced by the inceffant endeavours of their anglo-
faxon and frank converters, aided by the pomp of the new worihip, church-
mufic, incenfe, tapers, temples, high altars, bells, and proceflions : and as they
firmly believed in ghofts and incantations, they, with houfes, churches, church-
yards, and domeftic utenfils of every kind, were fo difcnchanted from paganifm^
and bewitched to chriftianity, by the power of the crofs, that the demon of a
double fuperftition returned into them. Some of thofe, by whom they wert
converted, however, St. Anfgarius in particular, were aftually defcrving men,
and heroes after their manner for the welfare of mankind.
We come laftly to the native countiy, as it is called, of the germanic nations,
the depofitory of their melancholy remains, Germany. After fo many tribes had
emigrated from it, not only was half of it occupied by a foreign race, the fla-
vians, but the remaining gcrman moiety, after various ravages, had become a
provmce, fubjedtcd by conqueft to the gi'eat empire of the franks. Frifons, al-
kmans, thucingians, and lad of ail faxons, were reduced to fubmiflien and
chriftianity : infomuch that the faxons, for example, when they became herßtne
(chriftians), and forfwore the great idol Woden, were forced to yield up all
their rights and poffeflions to the will of the fanöipotent Charles, beg their
Vives and liberty at his feet, and promife fideUty to the triune god, and to the
fanftipotent king. The fubjcdbion of thefe free and independent people to the
francic throne muft neceflarily cramp the fpirit of their original inftitutions :
many of them were treated with fcverity or mißruft j the inhabitants of whole
cjillricts were removed to diftant parts \ none of the nations that remained had
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Chav. v.] KjngJtms of the Saxons, Normans, and Danes. 555
loom, or time, to form themfelves. Immediately on the death of the giant,
who alone embraced with his arms this forcibly compounded empire, our Ger-
many, with varying limits, was now the portion of this feeble carlovingian, now
of that : and as it was compelled to take a part in the inceflant quarrels and
wars of this unfortunate race, what could it, or what could it*s internal confti-
tution, become ? Unluckily it formed the northern and eaftern boundary of
the francic empire, and with this of roman catholic chriftendom ; and on it's
whole fix)ntier dwelt irritated favage nations, glowing with implacable animofity,
ivho made this land the firft facrifice to their vengeance. While, on the one
hand, the normans advanced as far as Treves, and wrung from the nation a dif-
gracefiil peace j on the other, Arnulph, the favage hungarian, broke into the
country, to deftroy the moravian kingdom of the flavians, and thus laid it open
to long continued and terrible devaftation. Laft of all the flavians were con-
fidered as the hereditary enemies of the germans, and for centuries exercifed
their valour and fkill in arms.
The means adopted under the franks to exalt and fecure the empire were
dill more burdenfome to*difmembered Germany, It inherited all thofc bi«
(hoprics and archbiflioprics, abbeys and chapter^ which were formerly founded
on the frontiers for the converfion of the heathen ; thofe court places and chan-
celleries, in diftricts that no longer made part of the empire ^ thofe dukes and
margraves, who had been appointed as officers of the empire for the defence of
it*s boundaries, and whofe number had long been augmented againft the danes,
wendes, poles, ilavians, and hungarians. The mod brilliant and indifpenfable
jewel of all was the roman imperial crown; which alone has done more injury
to Germany, probably, than all the expeditions of tatars, hungarians, and
turks. Lewis, the firft of the carlovingian race to whofe lot Germany fell,
was no roman emperor : and during the divifion of the empire of the franks,
the popes bandied about this title in fuch a manner, that it was born by va-
rious princes in Italy, and even beftowed on a count of Provence, who died
after being deprived of fight, Arnulph, an illegitimate dcfcendant of Charle-
magne, coveted this title, which his fon, however, did not obtain j and which
the firft two kings of german blood, Conrad and Henry, did not defire. Otto,
who was inaugurated at Aix-la-Chapelle with the diadem of Charlemagne, un-
fortunately took this great frank for his model : and, as an adventure conferred
on him the kingdom of Italy, in confequence of delivering the beautiful widow
Adelaid fi-om a tower in which (he was confined, and thus opened to him the
way to Rome ; claim followed claim, war fucceeded war, from Lombardy to
Sicily and Calabria; where for the honour of it's einperor the blood of Ger«
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S56 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XVID,
many was profiifely fpilt, the gertnans were betrayed by the Italians» geitnan
emperors and emprelTes were maltreated in Rome, Italy was foiled by gennan
tyranny, Germany was attrafted out of it's orbit by Italy, it's fpirit and power
dvavm over the Alps, it's conftitution brought into dependance on Rome, and
the nation, fet at variance with itfelf, was made detrimental to itfelf and othen,
without deriving the lead advantage from this dazzling honour. Sic vos mm
vobis was always it's proper motto.
The more is it to the honour of the german nation, that> placed by the con-
catenation of affairs in fuch hazardous circumftances, it flood as the bulwark
and defence of the liberty and fecurity of all chriflian Europe. Henry the
Fowler had formed it to this, which Otto the great had talents to employ :
but then the faithful and willing nation followed it's leader, even when, in the
univerfal chaos of it's conftituiion, he himfelf knew not which way he led it.
As the emperor himfelf was unable to proteft his people from the fpoliation of
the privileged orders, part of them fhut themfelves up in towns, and purchafed
from their plunderers the proteftion of a trade, without which the land would
long have remained a Tatary. Thus a peaceable ufeful flate, connected by
trade, compads, and confraternities, was formed in the difcordant empire by
the intrinfic energies of the nation : thus manufactures arofe under the opprcf-
five yoke of vaffalage i and were in part improved by german induflry and in-
tegrity into arts, which were tranfmitted to other nations. What tbefe have
brought toperfeflion, the germans, for the mofl part, had firfl attempted;
though, opprelTed by poverty and want, they had feldom the fatisfadkion of
feeing them employed and flourifhing in their native country. They repaired
in numbers to foreign lands, and were the inflruftors of other nations, eafl,
wefl> and north, in various mechanic inventions. It would have been the fame
with the fciences, had not the government of the country rendered all inflitu-
tions of this kind, which were in the hands of the clergy, political wheels of the
confufed machine, and thus in a great meafure robbed them of fcicnce. The
convents of Corvey, Fulda, and others, have done more for the advancement of
fcience, than extenfive difirifts in other countries ; and amid all the dilbrders
of thefe ages, the inc^tinguifhable fidelity and probity of the german charaöet
remain evident*
The women of Germany were nowife inferiour to the men : domeflic afti-
vity, chaflity, fidelity, and honour, are the diftinguifhing features of the female
fex in all the germanic tribes and natioas. The mofl ancient arts of thefe
people were exercifed by the women : they fpun and wove; they fuperintcnded
the labouring people ; and they had the managenoent of the &mily» even in
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Chap. V.] Kingdoms of tue Sa\*o»s, NofmanB^ and Danes. 557
the higheft clafs. In the court itfelf the wife of the emperor had her grand
houfehold, to which a confiderable part of his revenue was frequently appro-
priated : and this regulation was long retained in many a princely houfe, cer-
tainly not to the detriment of the land. Even the romifli religion, which
greatly diminiflied the eftimation of the wife, operated not fo powerfully in this
refpeft here, as in warmer countries. The nunneries of Germany were never
the graves of chaftity to fuch a degree, as thofc on the other fide of the Rhine,
or beyond the Alps and Pyrenees : in many points, indeed, they were rather
magazines of german induftry. The gallant manners of chivalry were never
poliflied to that refined fenfuality in Germany, which they attained in warmer
and more voluptuous countries : for the very climate enjoined more flrift
confinement to the houfe, while other nations could purfue their occupations
and amufements in the open air.
Laflly, as foon as Germany became a feparate empire, it could boaft greater
monarchs j at leaft monarchs more benevolent and induftrious ; among whom
Henry, Otto, and the two Frederics, are preeminent. What would not thefc
men have accompliftied, in a more folid and determinate fphere !
After this individual examination, let us take a general view of the infUtutions
of the germanic nations, in all the countries and kingdoms they acquired. What
were their principles ? and what have thefe principles produced ?
CHAP. VI.
Geno'al Flew of the Inßitutions of the German Kingdoms in Europe^
If focial inftitutions be the moft exquifite produftions of the human mind,
and human induftry ; as they embrace the whole flate of things, according to
time, place, and circumftances, and confequently moft be the refult of much
experience, and affiduous attention : it is eafy to conjedlure, that a germanic
inftitution formed on the (hores of the Black Sea, or amid the forefts of
the north, muft have had very different confequences, when it fell among
nations of improved manners, or depraved by luxury and a fuperftitious
religion. To conquer thefe was fiir more eafy for the germans, than to
govern them well, or themfclves amid them. Hence the german kingdoms,
that were founded, foon difappeared, w decayed in fuch a degree, that their
fubfequent hiftory exhibited only the (hreds of an abortive inftitution.
I . Every conqueß of the germans proceeded on the principle of a common property.
The nation was as one man t to it every acquiütion belonged by the barbarous
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Ssi PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoonXVin.
right of war, and was fo to be divided among it's members, tliat all (hould ftill
remain a common pofTeffion. But how was this pradlicable t A nation of (hep-
herds on their downs, hunters in their forefts, an army with their booty, fi(her-
men with their common draughts of fi(b, may divide what they have among
themfelves, and yet remain a whole : to a conquering nation, fettling in a dif-
tant country, this is far rtiore difficult. Every foldier becomes a landholder oa
bis newly acquired pofTeflions : he remains pledged to the (late for warlike ex-
peditions, and other duties : but in a (hort time his public fpirit declines ; he
no longer frequents the afTemblies of the nation ; and he feeks to compound
for his military fcrvice, now become burdenfome to him, by the performance
of duties of a different kind. Thus it was among the franks, for example : the
Field of Mars was foon furfaken by the free commons ; of courfe it's refolutions
were left to the king and his fervants ; and even the aniere-ian * required the
moft vigilant exertions, to maintain it effeöive. Thus in time the free com-
mons neceflarily declined much in power, as they transferred their military fer-
vices to the ever ready knights, and made them ample compeniation ; (b that
the ftock of the nation was loft, like a divided and expanded (Iream, in flu^fh
impotence. Now if a kingdom thus modified were attacked in this period of
it's firft relaxation, what wonder that it fell ? And if free from external ene-
mies, what wonder, that this indolence fuflfered the beft rights and properties
of the people, to pafs into vicarious hands ? The conftitution of the whole was
framed for war, or for a way of life, in which all (hould remain in aftivity ; but
not for a people living difperfed in peaceful induftry.
2. fVitA every viSIortous king a band of nobles came into the country^ wko^ as his
comrades and friends^ his houfehold and JervantSy were to be portioned out of the
lands he conquered. At firft this was only for life : but in time the eftates allotted
them for their maintenance became hereditary ; the demefne lord gave, till he had
nothing left to beftow, and himfelf was impoveriflied. In moft conftitutions
of this kind the vaffals fo drained their lord, the fervants their mafter, th^t, if
the government were of long duration, the king had nothing left of all his pro-
fitable claims, and was at length the pooreft individual in tiie country: Now
jince, as we have feen, according to the courfe of things in long periods of hofti**
lity, the nobles muft neceflarily by degrees deprefs the ftock of the nation, the
free commonalty, fuch of them excepted as raifed them(elves to the rank of
nobles ; it is obvious, how the honourable trade of chivalry, at that time indif-
penfable, attained fuch eminence. The kingdom was conquered by warlike
* A fonunoni t^ the vaflali of the king to atiend hi« armies with their vaffidi. T.
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Chap. VI.} Of the Inßituihns of the German Kingdoms in Europe. 559
hordes : he, who perievered longed in the exerciie of arms, continued to add
to his acquifitions, whflc any thing was to be gained by the fword. Thus
rftimately the fovereign had nothing, bccaufe he had given every thing away :
and the free commons had nothing, becaufe they were either become nobles, or
impoveridwd ; and the reft of the people were ferfs.
3« As in theßate of common property of the people it zvasfit^ that the kingfiould
vifit every party or rather be every where prefent ; which was impraBicable ; vice"
roySy dukesy and countSy were indijpenfably necejjary. And as, according to the
german conftitution, the legiflative, judicial^ and executive powers were not
yet divided -, it was almoft inevitable, that, under feeble kings^ the viceroys of
great cities, or remote provinces, fhould in time become themfelves fovereigns,
or fatraps. Thein diftrifts, like a piece of gothic architefture, contained every
thing ia miniature, which the kingdom pofleffed at large , and as foon as they
and their nobility could agree, according to the ftate of affairs, the little king«
dorn was formed, though ftill dependent on the ftate. Thus Lombardy, and
the kingdom of the franks, fell to pieces, and were fcardy held together by the
filken thread of a regal name : and fo would it have been with the kingdoms of
the goths, and of the vandals, had they been of longer duration. To reunite
thefe fragments, where each part fought to become a whole, has employed the
endeavours of every kingdom in Europe of the germanic conftitution for five
centuries j and fome of them have not yet fucceeded in recovering their own
members. The feeds of thi% divifion lay in the conftitution itfelf : it is a po-
typus, in each difl*evered part of which lives a whole.
4. As every thing turned on perfonality iti this colle^ive body\ it's heady the
kingy though be was as far as poffible from being abfolutey reprefetUed the nation, in
his perfoHy as well as in his domeßie economy. Moreover, his colleäiz e dignity, pro-
perly a mere fiSfion of ßate^ was imparted to his ptellites, oßcers, and few ants.
Perfonal fervices to the king were confidcred as the firft offices of the ftate j
as they who were about his pcrfon, chaplains, equerries, and fewers, maft fre-
quently ferve and afTift him at councils, in courts of juftice, and on other occa<«
fions. Natural as this was in the rude fimplicity of thofe times, it was alto«
gether abfurc^ that thefe chaplains and fewers (hould be adually reprefentativc
members of the empire, enjoy the firft rank, in the ftate, or indeed hold their
dignities as hereditary to all eternity: and yet fuch a parade of barbarian pomp»
adapted to the dining tent of a khan of tatars» but not to the palace of a father,
direäor, and judge of a nation, forms the fundamental conftitution of every
gennanic kingdom in Europe. The old fiöion of ftate was converted into a
naked truth : the whple empire was metamorphofed into the hall, the kitchen^
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S6o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIII.
and the ftable of the king. Singular metamorphofis I They who were fcrvants
and vaffals might indeed be reprefented by thefe fcrvants of higher order, and
more fplendid appearance ; but not the body of the nation, no one free member
of which had been a fcrvant of the king, but his comrade and companion in the
field and the cabinet, and could not allow himfelf to be reprefented by any of
the king's domeftics. This tatarian conftitution flourifhed no where with fuch
magnificence as on gallic ground ; whence it was tranfplanted into England
and Sicily by the normans, into Germany with the imperial diadem, thence into
the northern kingdoms, and laft of all from Burgundy with great pomp into
Spain ; every where producing new blofToms, according to the time and place.
Neither greeks nor romans, neither Alexander nor Auguftus, knew any thing
of fuch a fidtion of ftate, which made the houfehold of the r^ent the fum and
fubftance of the kingdom : but on the banks of the Ycnifey and the Yaik it is
indigenous J and therefore the fables and ermines of it's arms and devices are
not infignificant.
5. This conftitution would not eafily have found and retained fuch firm
footing in Europe, had it not been preceded by another barbarifm, with which
it amicably coalefced, the barharljm vf the fapacy. For as all the remains of
fcience, with which even the barbaiians could not difpenfe in thefe countries,
were in the hands of the clergy; there was but one mode left for them, unde-
firous of acquiring fcience themfelves, to add it as it were to their conqueils,
by admitting the bifhops among them. This they did. And as thefe became
fervants of the court with the nobles 5 as thefe too allowed themfelves to be
endowed with benefices, lands, and privileges, and in many refpeds gained the
preeminence over the laity, from various caufes 3 this conftitution was dear to
the papacy above all others. Now as on the one hand it is undeniable, that
the fpiritual order contributed much to the foftening of manners, and eftablifh-
ment of order; on the other it muft. be confefled, that the introduftion of two
diftinft codes of law, of an independent ftate within the ftate at large, muft
have loofened the foundations of the political edifice. No two things could
be more direftly oppofite to each other in themfelves, than the roman papacy,
and the fpirit of german manners : this fpirit the papacy was inceffanily un-
dermining, while on the other hand it appropriated much of it to itfclf, and
at length compounded from the two a german romifli chaos. That, at which all
german nations had long ßiuddered, became at length moftdear to them : they
fuffered their own principles to be employed agalnft themfelves. The domr.ins
of the church, wrefted from the ftate, became one common domain, which the
bißiop of Rome governed and protefted with more energy, than any fecular
potentate his dominions. A conftitution full of incongruity, and fatal difcord.
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Chap. VI.] Of the Inßituthns »/the German Kingdoms in Evrofe, 561
6. Neither foldiers nor monks feed a country : and aS fo little care was taken of
the labouring clafs in this conftitution, which tended rather to render the
whole community ferfs of the biftiops and nobles; it is obvious, that the ftate
was long deprived of it's moft invigorating fprings, indufirvy and the aSiivefpirit
if uncontrolled invention. The foldier deemed himfelf too great to till the ground,
and funk into obfcurity ; the nobles and convents would have their predial
Haves, and predial ilavery was never advantageous to mankind. As long as
lands and goods were confidered as an indivifible dead pofleflion, belonging to
the crown, or the church, or the head of a noble race, in the quality of an im-
moveable eftate, to which ferfs appertained ; and not as an ufeful body, organized
in all it'5 parts and produfts: the right ufe of this land, and the true eftima-
tion of human powers, were prevented in an unfpcakablc degree. The greater part
of the land was an unprodu<5live common ; and men were attached to the glebe
like beads, with this fevere law, that they could never loofen themfelves from
it. Arts and trades followed the fame courfe. Exercifed by women and
ilaves, they long remained, in the grofs, flavifli occupations : and when convents,
having acquired from the roman world a knowledge of their utility, drew them
within their walls ; when emperors conferred on them the privileges of city
corporations; the courfe of things did not change. How can arts raife them-
felves, where agriculture is depreflcd ? where the primitive fource of wealth,
independent, gainful induftry, with all the dreams of traffic and free trade, is
dried up ? where none but foldiers and monks arc leading men, and wealthy
proprietaries ? Conformably to the fpirit of the times, the arts could only be
introduced as common bodies, univerßtateSy in the form of corporations : a rude
fliell, which, though then neceflary to fecurity, was dill a fetter, redraining the
aftivity of the human mind from exerting itfelf out of the corporate pale. Wc
have to thank fuch conditutions, that barren commons are dill to be found in
countries cultivated for centuries ; that firmly eftabliflied corporations, orders,
and fraternities, dill cherifli all the ancient prejudices and errours, which they
have faithfully preferved. The human mind has modelled itfelf mechanically
by the fquare and compafs, and crouched in the privileged ched of a corpora-
tion.
7. From all this it is evident, that the idea of the germanic popular condi-
tution, natural and noble as it was in itfelf, when ai)plied to great, conquered,
long civilized, or indeed romifli chridian kingdoms, could be no other than a
bold experiment, liable to various abufcs : it required to be long exercifed, and
proved and poliftied in various wayj, by many intelligent nations, before it
CQuId attain any degree of dability. In little municipalities, in judicial pro-
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i&% PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXVIIL
ceffes, and wherever the general prefencc is fomething more than a dead letter,
it is unqueftionably the beft. The old gernian principles, that every one (ball
be tried by his peers, that the judge has no authority but what he derives from
thofe to whom the right of judging belongs, that fatisfaäion for every crime is
to be made oiüy as it is an offence agdinfl the community, and that an offence
i» to be judged not by the letter of the law, but from aftual confideration of the
fed : thefe, with a number of cuftoms, refpefting the adminiftration of juftice,
confraternities, and other matters, teftify the clear underftanding, and equitable
^irit of the germans. With regard to the ftate, likewife, the principles of the
community of property, defence, and liberty, to the whole nation, were grand
and noble : but as thefe principles required men, qualified to keep all the mem-
bers of the community together, to maintain the balance between them, and
to animate the whole with ;i glance ; and as fuch men were not to be produced
according to the law of primogeniture i it followed, as it has every where more
or lefs, that the members of the nation gave a loole to the cxercifc of lawlcfs
power, opprefled the unarmed, and fupplied the want of underflanding and
induftiy by long tatarian diforder. Yet, in the hiftory of the World, tlie popu-
lar conflitution of the german nations has proved the folid bulwark, that has
prote&ed the remains of civilization from the florms of time, developed the
public fpirit of Europe, and flowly and filently operated on all the r^ons of
the Earth. Firfl appeared the lofty phantoms of a fpiritual and a temporal mo-
narchy i but they promoted objefts far different from thofe, for which tbcy
were defigned.
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r 563 3
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK XIX.
NEVER was a nominal allufion attended with confequcnces more impor-
tant, than that made to St. Peter» that an indeftrudible church (hould
be built on the rock of his faith» and that to him the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven fliould be cntrufted. The bifliop, who was fuppofed to fit in St. Peter's
chair» and near his grave» had the art» to interpret this as alluding to himfelf :
and as various circumftances concurred» to render him the primate of the
greateft chriftian church» and at the fame time to confer on him the power of
ifTuing fpiritual ordinances and injundtions» calling councils and deciding upon
them» eftablifliing and defining articles of faith» abfolving irremiffible fins» and
imparting indulgences» that no other could beflow» fo that» in fhort, he en-
joyed tlie authority of God upon Earth ; he foon paiTed from this fpiritual
monarchy» to it's natural confequence» temporal. As he had formerly limited the
power of bifiiops» he now reftrained that of monarchs. He conferred a weftern
imperial diadem» the authority of which he himfelf did not acknowledge. His
dreaded hand» wielding anathemas and interdidtions» ereded and gave away
kingdoms» chaftifed and pardoned kings» deprived countries of the exercife of
religious worlhip, abfolved fubjefts and vaflals from their duties, deprived the
whole body of his clergy of wives and children» and founded a fyftem, which
a feries of ages have fliaken indeed» but not yet deftroycd. Such a phenome-
non demands attention : and as no regent in the world had fuch obflacles to
furmount for the eftablifliment of his power, as the bifihop of Rome» it deferves
at leaft to be examined without rancour and animofity , -as well as any other
political confVitution *.
* Though particular parts of the papal
hiftory have been handled with confiderable
ability fince Sarpi, PuiFendorf, &c. s yet I think
a philofopMcal hiftory of the papacy, treated
throughout with perüeä impartiality, is ftill warn-
ing. The author of the RefcrmitticrffgefcbUhte,
' Hiftory of the Reformation/ after he hns
completed his dcfign, might thus give \i\%
work a fingular degree of perfcftion.
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564 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoocXDC
CHAPTER I,
Romi/k Hierarchy,
When a man defigns to ereft an edifice, he ufually makes a fkctch of the
(Irufture, before lie lays it's foundations : but this is feldom the cafe with the
work of the political architeft, which is left to time to complete. It may be
doubted, whether the moft unremitting attention could ever have been fuffi-
cienty to raife the fpiritual greatnefs of Rome. The bifliops, that wore the
roman mitre, differed as much as any other potentates ; and there were unpro-
pitious times for the ableft operators. But it was the policy of this fee, to turn
to account even thefe unpropitious periods, and the feults both of it's enemies,
and of it's preceding occupiers : and by this policy it attained it's grandeur
and liability. Out of numerous circumftances of hifl:or}% let us confider a few,
with the principles on which the greatnefs of Rome was erefted.
The very name of Rome itfelf fays a great deal : the ancient queen of the World,
the head and the crown of nations, inspired her bifliops with the defire of being
alfo the head of nations after their manner. No tales of the epifcopacy and
martyrdom of Pete^ would have had fuch political effeds at Antioch, or Jcru-
falem, as in the flourifliing church of ancient, immortal Rome : for how much
did the bifliop of this revered city find, that could not fail to exalt liim almoft
againft his will ! The ineradicable pride of the roman people, to which fo many
emperors were obliged to yield, lifted him on their (houlders ; and infpired him,
the paftor of the firft people upon Earth, with the thought of ftudying- fcience
and politics, in this their high fchool, to which even in chriftian times men
journeyed for inftruftion in the roman jurifprudcnce ; that, like the ancient
romans he might rule the World by his laws and ordinances. The pomp of
pagan worfliip glared in his eyes; and as this was connefted with the fovereign
power in the roman conftitution, the people expefted in it's chriftian bifhop,
likewife, the ancient porJifcx maximuSy arufpex^ W angur. Accuftomcd to
triumphs, feftivals, and ceremonials of ftate, they gladly faw chriftianity emerg-
ing from graves and catacombs into temples worthy of the roman greatnefs s
and thus Rome became a fecond time the head of nations, by means of it's
feftivals, rites, and inftitutions.
Rome eariy difplayed it's legiflative policy, by inculcating the wiity of the
churchy purity of do^rine, orthodoxyy avd cathoiicifmy on which it was ncccffary
the church fliould be built. Even fo early as the fecond centur)-, Viftor had
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Chap. I.] Romiß Hierarchy. 565
the boldnefs to refufe acknowledging the chriftians of Afit as his faietlurtii,
becaufe they would not celebrate Eafter at the fame time with him : nay the
firft divifion between jewifli and heathen chriftians was probably terminated by
Rome, where Paul and Peter lay peaceably interred *• This fpirit of an uni-
verfkl dodrine maintained itfelf in the romifli fee : and though fomo of the
popes themfelves are fcarccly free from the imputation of herefy, their fuccef«
fors always contrived to take a turn, and reenter the pale of the orthodox
church, Rome never bowed to hercfy, though often threatened by it : the
eaftern emperors, the oftrogoths and vifigoths, the burgundians and the lom-
bards, were arians: fome of thefe governed Romes yet Rome remained catho-
lic. At length it feparated itfelf without ceremony from the greek church,
though this was almoft half a world. This foundation of an immoveable purity
and univerfality of dodtrine, profefling to reft on Scripture and tradition, muft
neceffarily acquire and fupport the fuperftrudture, under favourable circum-
ftanceS) of the throne of a fpiritual judge.
Such favourable circumftances occurred. After the emperors had left Italy;
when the empire was divided, and overrun by barbarians ; and Rome had been
repeatedly taken and plundered \ it*s bi(hop had more than once opportunities
of being it's deliverer. He was the father of the abandoned metropolis ; and
the barbarians, who venerated the majefty of Rome, refpefted it's chief prieft.
Attila retired; Genferic fubmitted; enraged lombard kings fell at his feet,
even before he vtas lord of Rome. Long did he hold the balance between
greeks and barbarians: he had the art to divide, that he might afterwards
govern« And when this policy of divifion would no longer fucceed, he had
already prepared his catholic France to aflift him: he crofted the mountains,
and obtained from his deliverer more than he had aiked, his epifcopal city, with
all the cities of the exarchate. At length Charlemagne became emperor of
Rome; and now the word was, one Rome, one emperor, one pope three
infeparable names, thenceforward to work the weal and woe of nations. Un-
heard of liberties were taken by the roman biftiop even with the fon of his
benefaftor; and his later fuccefibrs expedled ft ill more. He interfered be-
tween the emperors, ifiued his commands, to them, depofed them, and tore
from their brows the crown, which he conceived he had given to them. The
epenhearted germans, who for three hundred and fifty years viiited Rome for
the fake of this jewel, and readily facrificed to it the blood of the nation, >were
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566 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXDL
they who raifed the arrogance of the pope to it's mod tremendous height.
Without a german emperor, and the wretched conftitution of his empire, a
Hildebrand would never have arifen : and even now the conititution of Ger-
many renders it the pillow of the roman tiara.
As heathen Rome was happily fituate for it's conquefts, fo was chriftiaa
Rome. From the North Sea and the Baltic, from the Euxine and the Wolga,
came numerous nations, whom the bifliop of Rome muft "finally ügn with his
orthodox crofs, if they would live in peace in this orthodox re^on : and thofe,
who came not of their own accord, he took care to feek. He fcnt pciyersand
incenie to the nations; in return for which they dedicated gold and filver to his
ufe, and endowed his numerous fervants with woods and fields. But their
mod valuable prefent was their raw, unprejudiced hearts; which finned the
more, as they acquired the knowledge of fin ; and received from him catalogues
of oJTences, that his abfolutions nnght become requifite. Thus the keys of St.
Peter came into employ ; but never did they turn without a fee. What a fine
inheritance for the cleiigy were the lands of the goths, allemans, franks, angles,
faxons, danes, fwedes, ilavians, poles, prufiians, and hungarians ! The later thefe
people entered into the kingdom of Heaven, the dearer were they obliged to
pay for admifiion ; and not unfrequently their land and liberty were the price.
The farther they lay to the north, or to the eaft ; the more tardy was their
converfion, and the more ample their gratitude. The greater the difficulty
with which a nation was led to the faith, the more firmly did it learn to believe.
At length the fold of the romifli biihop extended to Greenland, and ftretched
from the Dwina and the Nieper to the extreme promontory of the weft,
Winifred, or Boniface, the converter of the germans, raifed the authority of
the pope over bifliops fituate out of his diocefe to a much higher pitch, than
any emperor could have done. As a bifhop in a land of infidek he bad taken
an oath of fealty to the pope, which perfuafion or afiumption afterwards ex-
tended to other bifhops, till at length it became a law in all catholic kingdoms.
The fi^quent divifion of countries under the carlovingian race likewife chang^
the limits of epilcopal diocefes, and afforded the pope abundant opportunities
of exercifing his authority in them. Laftly, the coUedion of decretals of the
Pfeudo-Widorus, which firft appeared publicly in thefe times of the carlovin-
gians, probably in the interval between the frank and gcrmanic empires, being
permitted to pafs as valid, from inattention, artifice, and ignorance, at ooce
eftablifhed all the growing abufejs of recent times on the bafis of ancient au-
thority. This finglc book was of more fervice to the pope than ten imperial
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CirAP. I.J Komtß Hierarchy^ 567
diplomas : and indeed ignorance and fuperftition in general, with which tlie
wliole weflern world was deluged, formed the deep and cxtenfivc fca, into
wbicU the net of St. Peter was caft with ample fuccefs.
1 he political abilities of the roman bifhops were mod eminently difplayed,
in »^ he art with which they turned the mod unpromifing circumftances to their
ai vantage. Long were they oppreffed by the emperors of the eaft, and often
Ly thofe of the weft : and yet Conftantinople was firft obliged to allow them
thf rank of univerfal bifliops, and Germany at laft to cede to them the invefti-
turc of the fpiritual order of the empire. The greek church feparated itfelf:
aiul by this, too, the pope profited ; for in it he could never have obtained that
authority, for which he ftrove in the weft, and which he was thus enabled, to
render the more compadV. Mohammed appeared : the arabs fubducd a great
part of the fouth of Europe : they even cruifed in the neighbourhood of Rome,
and attempted to land. Thefe calamities, likewife, were of ineftimable value
to the pope; who well knew how to avail himfelf of the feeblencfs of the greek
emperors, and the danger which threatened Europe ; taking the field as the
deliverer of Italy, and thenceforward affuming to himfelf the ftandard of chrif-
tendom againft all infidels. A fearful fpecies of war, which he had the power
to enforce by bans and interdidtions,. and in which he was not merely the herald,
but often both treafuser and commander in chief. He likewife turned to ac-
count the fucccffes of the normans againft the arabs ; invefting them with lands^
to which be had no right, and by means of them fccuring his rear, that he might
be at full liberty, to carry on his operations in front. So true it is, that he ad-
vances fartheft, who knows not in the beginning how far he (hall advance, but
avails himfelf with fteady principle of every circumftance, that time throws in
his way.
Let us impartially exhibit fome of thefe principles, purfued by the court of
Rome to it's no fmall advantage.
I. The fruei-ei^ty of Romer eßed on faith: on a faith, that was to promote
the good of men's fouls, both in time and in eternity. To this fyftem pertained
every thing, that could lead the human mind; and every thing conducive to
this end Rome got into her own hands. From his mother's womb to the grave»
nay beyond it in the flames of Purgatory, a man was in the power of the
church, firom which he could not withdraw himfelf, without being irremediably
mifcrable. The church moulded his head : the church difturbed and calmed
his heart» Confeflion placed in her hands the keys of his fecrets, of his con-
fcience, of every thing that he carried in or about him. All his lifetiraie the
believer remained a pupil under her diicipline; and in the article of death (lie
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568 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XDL
bound him with fevenfold bonds, the more liberally to loofc the penitent and
the liberal. This was equally the cafe with the king and the beggar, the (bidier
and the monk, the hufband and the wife : mafter neither of his reafon, nor of
his confciencc, every one was doomed to be led, and guides he could not
want. Now as man is an indolent animal, and, when once accuftomed to have
his mind under fpiritual dircdlion, cannot eafily difpenfe with it, but rather
commends this foft yoke to his pofterity, as the pillow of a fick foul j the do-
minion of the church was hereby interwoven moft intimately into the be-
liever's frame. With his reafon and confcience (lie had every thing in her
power : it was a trifle, that, fowing her fpiritual feed, flie reaped his temporal
hanefl: J flie was furely the heir of him, whom refignation had fliampcd her folc
property during life.
2. To gtiide this faithy the church employed not the greatefl^ the moß important
meansy but the leaßy and moß comprehenfible\ well knowing how little fatisfies
men's devotion. A crucifix, a pifture of Mary and her child, a mafs, a rofary^
promoted her objeft more than many refined reafonings would have done:
and even thefe implements flie managed with the moft frugal^ diligence. Where
a mafs was fufEcient, it was not neceflary to eat the Lord's fupper : when a
low mafs would anfvver the purpofe, high maß was not required : if a man ate
the tranfubftantiated bread, he might difpenfe with the tranfubftantiated wine.
This economy afforded the church opportunity for innumerable indulgences,
and unexpenfive prefcnts : for even the moft frugal economift may be defied,
to make more of a little water, bread, or wine, a ftring of gkfs or wooden
beads, a lock of wool, a little ointment, or a crofs, than was made by the
church of P^ome. It was the fame with rituals, prayers, and ceremonies. They
were never invented and eftabliflied in vain : old ceremonies remain, though
new arc adapted to more modern times : pious pofterity muft and will be (avcd
after the manner of their fathers. Still lefs has the church retrafted any of the
faults committed by her : when too glaring, indeed, they have been artfully
glofled over; otherwife every thing has remained as it was, and, when oppor-
tunity offered, not correfted, but enlarged. Before Heaven was peopled with
faints in this prudent way, the church was filled with wealth and miracles:
and even with regard to the miracles of their faints the inventive powers of the
narrators have been at little expenfe. Every thing was repeated, and built on
the grand principles of the popular, the comprehenfible, and the familiar : for the
frequent and bold repetition of what is leaft credible challenges belief, and at
length obtains it.
3. With this prmciplc of the finalleft means the romifli policy contrived fo
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Chap. I.] Romifli Hierarchy. 569
to combine the moß refined and the moß grofsy that it would be difficult to
exceed it in either. No one could be more humble, cajoling, and fuppUant,
than the popes, in time of need, or towards thofc who were liberal, and
prompt to ferve them ; at one time it is a tender father, at another St. Peter,
that fpeaks through their mouth : but no one could write or adl with more
opcnncfs and vigour, with more coarfenefs and feverity, when it was requifite.
They never difputed, but decreed : an artful boldnefs, wliich purfues it's own
courfe, in fpite of tears, or prayers, or demand«, or threats, or defiance, or
punifliment, diftinguiQies the language of the £pmifli bulls, almoft without a
parallel. Hence the peculiar tone of the laws, mandates, and decretals of the
church, in the middle ages, fingularly different from the dignity of the ancient
romaii legiflation : the fervant of Chrift is accuflomed to fpeak to laics, or
thofe under his immediate control, always certain of his objed, never retracing
his words. This holy defpotifm, glofled with paternal authority, has done
more than the empty courtefy of frivolous ftate policy, in which no one con-
fides. It knew it's objedl, and how obedience was to be enfured.
4. *The romißi policy attacked itjelf to no particular obje^ of civil fociety in pre-
ference: it exißed for itfelf^ it employed every thing, that was of ufe to it;
it could annihilate every thing, that was an obftacle to it : for it depended
folely on itfelf. An ccclefiaftical ftate, which lived at the expenfe of all chrif-
tian ftates, could not fail to be of fervice now to fcience, now to morality and
order, to agriculture, arts, or commerce, when it fuited it's purpofe : but that
papacy was never truly inclined to promote the difTufion of genuine know-
ledge, the advancement to an improved form of government, and whatever is
connedled with it, is apparent from all the hiftory of the middle ages. The
beft germe n\ight be crufhed, if it were at all dangerous : and the more learned
papift muft conceal or accommodate his knowledge, the moment it interfered
with the eternal intereft of the fee of Rome. On the other hand, whatever
promoted this intereft, arts, taxes, municipal mutinies, or donations of lands,
were cheriftied and managed for the greater glory of God. In every movement
the church was the fixed centre of the univerfe.
5. The romifh political fupremacy might employ whatever zvas conducive to this
obje£i: war and devaftation, fire and fword, death and imprilbnmcnt, forged
writings, perjury on the holy facrament, inquifitorial tribunals and interdidtions,
poverty and difgrace, temporal and eternal mifery. To ftir up a country
ag^nft it's prince, it might be deprived of all the means of falvation, except
at the hour of death : the keys of Peter exercifed an authority over the laws
of God and inan> over the rights of individuals and of nations.
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570 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIX.
6. And as all the gates of Hell were not to prevail againß this edifice i as the
fyftcm of canonical inftitutions, the power of the keys to bind and to loofen, the
magic power of holy figns, the gift of the fpirit, tranfmitted from Peter to his
fucceflbrs, and thofc whom they confecrated, preached nothing but eternity;
who can imagine a more deeply rooted empire ? The clerical order were it's
own, body and foul ; with (haven heads, and irrevocable vows, they were it's
fervants to eternity. The bond that connected the prieft to the church wis
indiflbluble : he was deprived of child, of wife, of fether, and of heir : cut off
from the fruitful tree of the human fpecies, he was engrafted into the barren
evergreen of the church ; and his honour was thenceforward it's honour, hb
profit it's profit : no change of mind, no repentance, for him, till his flaveiy
was terminated by death. In recompenfe the church opened to thefe it's vaf-
Ikls an ample field of reward, a lofty ladder, leading them, though fervants, to
wealth and extenfive command, to dominion over all the free and great ones
of the Earth. It held out honours to tempt the ambitious, devotion to ftimu-
late the devout, and for every one his proper bait and reward. This lega-
tion, too, has this peculiarity ; that, as long as a fragment of it remains, the
whole exifts ; and, with each individual maxim, all muft be followed : for it is
the rock of Peter, fi'om which the fifherman cafts bis indeftruftible net ; it is
the garment without feam, that can be the lot only of one^ though foldiers play
for it.
7. And who was this one^ at the head of the facrcd college at Rome ? Never
a whimpering child, to whom men had taken the oath of fealty perhaps in his
▼ery cradle, and thereby vowed fubmifEon to all his future freaks j never a play-
ful boy, with whom men fought to creep into favour by indulging him in all
his youthful follies, t hat they might afterwards become the fpoiled children of his
caprice : a man of ripe years, or filvered with age, was clcfted, already for the
moft part praöifed in the aflFairs of the church, and acquainted with the field,
to which he was to appoint labourenj or one clofely allied with the princes of
bis time, and chofen at a critical period, precifely for the difficulty, which he
bad to furmount. He had but few years to live, and no pofterity for whom
be could legitimately make provifion : -and if he did this, it was but as a drop
in the great ocean of the catholic pontificate. The intereft of the fee of Rome
was progrcffive : the experienced old man was only fet up, that he alfo mig^t
put his name to what had been done. Many popes funk under the burden :
others, verfed in law and politics, bold, and (teady, performed more in a few
years, than a weak government could have accompUfhed in half a century.
Were only the moft eminently great and worthy popes to be euamerated, they
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Chap. I.] IRj^miJh Hierarchy. gyi
would prefent a long catalogue of names, many of which muft excite our regret,
that they who bore them could not be employed to fome other purpofe. Fewer
effeminate debauchees by far have worn the roman tiara than fecular crowns;
and of many of thefe the £iults are ftriking only becaufe they were the faults
of popes.
CHAPTER II.
EffeSf of tie Hierarchy ok Europe.
FmsT of all it is proper to confider the benefits, that chriftianity, even in this
garb, muft from it's nature confer. Compaffionate toward the poor and op-
prefled, it took them under it's proteftion fipom the wild devaftation of the
barbarians: many bilhops in Gaul, Spain, Germany, and Italy, have proved
this as faints. Their habitations and the temples were afylums for the op-
prefled : they redeemed flaves, liberated prifoners, and reprefled the horrible
traffic in human beings, carried on by the barbarians, wherever it was in their
power. This merit of clemency and generofity to the opprefied part of the
human fpecies cannot be refufed to the principles of chriftianity : from it's
infancy it laboured for the deliverance of man, as is evinced even by many im-
politic laws of the eaftem emperors. But this benefit was ftill more indifpen«
fable in the weftern church; and many decrees of the bifhops in Spain, Gaul,
and Germany, inculcate it, even without the affiftance of the pope.
It is alfo inconteftible, that, m times of general infecurity, temples and con-
vents were the fandkuaries, in which peaceful induftry and trade, agriculture,
arts, and manufadlures, found refuge. Ecclefiaftics eftablifhed annual fairs,
ftill bearing in honour of them the name of mafTes *, and protefted them witli
the peace of God, when no royal or imperial proclamation could give them
fecurity. Artifts and mechanics retreated within the walls of the convent, as
a fafeguard againft the nobles, who would have held them in a fbte of vafla-
läge. Monks purfued ncglefted hufbundry, both with their own hands, and
by means of others : they prepared whatever was neceffary for their convents,
or at leaft afforded a place for a monaftic application to the arts, and beftowed
on them a frugal reward. The remains of ancient authors were faved from
deftruaion in convents ; and, being occafionally txanfcribcd, were thus tranf-
• The term meß is equally applied, in Gti* the moft impoiUnt of which are held about
many, to the religious office named a mafs, and eafter and michaelmas, when a great deal oC
to the great meeting of traderi, called a iair ; bufuefs is tranfiifted. T.
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57« PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIX.
mitted to pofterity. Laftly, by means of divine fervice a flight dew was pre*
ierved» fuch as it was, in the latin language, which afterwards led men back to
the literature of the ancients, and thus to improvement in knowledge. For
fuch times were convents adapted, which afforded even the pilgrim fecurity
and protcftion, food, lodging, and conveniencics. Journeys of this kind firft
brought nations peaceably together; for the pilgrim's ftaffwas a defence, where
the fword would have been of little avail: and through their means was
acquired a knowledge of foreign countries; while at the fame time tales, narra-
tives, romances, and poetry, were cheriflied by them though in their rudcft
infancy.
All this is undeniably true : but as much of It might have taken place with-
out the bifhop of Rome, let us inquire what advantages liis {piritual fovereignty
may properly be faid to have brought to Europe ?
1. Tie converfian of many heathen nations. But in what manner were they
converted ? Frequently by fire and fword, by fccret tribunals, and wars of ex-
tirpation. Let it not be faid, that the bifhop of Rome ordered none of theie :
}ie approved them, enjoyed their fruits, and copied them, when it was in his
power. Hence that tribunal of the inquifition, at which pfalms were diaimted;
hence thofe croifading miflions, the plunder of which was (hared by popes and
princes, knights, prelates, canons, and priefts. They who efcaped deftruftioa
were reduced to the ftate of vaflalage, in which they for the moft part ftill con-
tinue. Thus was chriftian Europe rounded : thus were kingdoms ereftcd, and
their crowns conferred by popes : and thus was the crofs of Chriftafterwards carried
as the fignal of death into every quarter of the Globe. America yet fmokes with
the blood of her flain ; and the enflaved nations of Europe ftill curie their
converters. And you, innumerable vidims of the inquifition, in the fbuth of
France, in Spain, and in other quarters of the World ! your bones arc moul-
dered into duft, and your aflies are difperfed by the winds : but the ftory of
the barbarities exercifed towards you remans, an eternal appellant in behalf of
human nature outraged in you.
2. To the hierarchy is afcribed the merit of having united all the nations of
Europe in one shrißian republic. But in what did this confift ? That all nations
fliould kneel before one crofs, and hear one mafs, was fomething, but not
much. That they (hould all be governed by Rome in fpiritual affairs, was
not of any ineftimable advantage to them ; for they groaned under the weight
of the tribute they fent thither, and an innumerable army of monks and ecde-
üaftics, nuncios and legates. Peace between the european powers then there
waakls than now 3 owing, among other things, to thefyftem of &1& policy.
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Cra^. n,] EfeSl of the Hierarchy on Europe. 573
which the pope hlmfclf cherifhed in Europe. Chriftianity flopped the pirati-
cal depredations of heatheniftn : but powerful chriftian nations rubbed hard
againft eacih other j and all were full of diforder within, animated by a fpiritual
and temporal thirft of plunder. This double fovereignty, too, a papal ftatc
within every ftate, prevented each kingdom from recurring to it's principles ;
to which men have turned their attention only fince they have been free from
the fupremacy of the pope. Europe, therefore, has fhown itfelf as a chriftian
republic only toward the infidels; and this not often to it's honour: for the
croilades can fcarcely be deemed deferving of fame, even by the epic poet.
3. It has been reckoned to the honour of the hierarchy, that it ferved to
balance the defpotifm of the princes and nobles^ and exalt the lozver cla£es of men.
True as this is, as to the matter of fad, it muft be admitted with great limi-
tations. The original conftilution of the germanic nations was properly fo
repugnant to all defpotifm, that, if this difeafe of the mind were to be learned,
it would be much lefs diääcult to maintain, that the bifhops taught it to the
kings. For inftance, the oriental or monaftic notion of blind fubmiffion to the
will of the ruler was firft introduced into the jurifprudence and education of
the people by the bifhops, who derived it from abufe of Scripture, from Rome,
and from their own order : they converted the ofEcc of the fovereign into an
idle dignity, and infufed into him prefumption with the oil of divine right.
Thofe who were employed by kings, to eftablifh their defpotic power, were
alrooft always ecclefiaftics : if thefe were but well feAl with prefents and pri-
^leges, they little fcrupled the facrifice of others. Then, too, were not the fc-
cular princes in general preceded, or at leaft zealoufly emulated by the bifliops,
in extending their powers and privileges ? and did not thefe fanftify the unjuft
booty ? The pope, laftly, as lord paramount of kings, and defpot of defpots,
decided by right divine. In the time of the carlovingian, frank, and fuabian
emperors, he indulged himfelf in pretenfions, on which a laic could not have
ventured without univerfal difapprobation ; and the fingle life of the emperor
FVcderic II, of the houfe of Suabia, from his minority under the guardianfliip
of a pope, of all others moft learned in the law, to his own and the death of
his grandfon Conradin, may ferve as a fummary of what may be faid of the
fapremacy of the pope over the prinCes of Europe. The blood of this houfe
can never be wafhed out from the apoftolical chair. What a tremendous
height, to be the fovereign lord over all the kings and countries of chriften-
dom \ Of this Gregory VII, certamly no ordinary man, Innocent III, and Boni-
fact VIII, are glaring examples.
4. Tie great inJUtutions of the hierarchy in all catholic countries are palpable;
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574 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoorXIX.
and probably the fciences would long ago have been reduced to beggary» had
they not received a fupport, though fcanty, in the crumbs that fell from thefe
ancient holy tables. Let us not, however» miilake the fpirit of the times.
Agriculture was not the principal objedt of any benedidine monk» but cloif-
tered devotion. He ceafed to work» as foon as he could difpenfe with labour:
and how confiderable was the portion of the fums he gained that went to
Rome, or were confumed for purpofes» on which they ought not to have been
employed ! The ufeful benediftines were followed by a ferics of other orders»
advantages to the hierarchy indeed» but then extremely burdenfome to arts
and fcience» to the ftate and to mankind -, the mendicants in particular. All
thefe» with the nuns of every defcription» the brothers and fifters of mercy per-
haps alone excepted» were fuited only to thofe harfli» unenlightened» barbarian
times. Who would now found a convent according to the rules c£ Benedift»
to promote the cultivation of the ground ? or a cathedral» that an annual fidr
might be held under it*8 protection ? Who would exptSt from a monk inftruc-
tions in the theory of commerce ; from the bifhop of Rome» the beft (yflem öE
political economy -, or from the teacher in ordinary of a chapter» the mofl per-
feA form of education i Still every thing» that promoted fcience» morality»
order» and gentlenefs of manners» though but collaterally» was of ineftimable
value.
In this dafs» however» the forced vows of chaftity» idlenefs» and monaftic
poverty» are to be reckoned at no time» and in no religious ledt. They were
indifpeniable to the fupremacy of the papal chair ; which found it neceflkry to
break every tie» by which the fervants of the church were conneAed with (b-
ciety» that they might live for it alone: but to mankind they were never
adapted» never beneficial. Let any one lead a life of celibacy, beg, fing pfklms»
count beads, and fcourge himfelf, who can and will : but to whom can it ap-
pear a (ubjeft of praife, or of approbation, that confraternities of this fort
ihould be &voured with privileges, benefices, and an eternal faJary» under the
proteftion of the public, nay under the feal of fanftity and fupererogatory
merit» at the expenfe of aftive, ufeful indufhy, a virtuous domeflic life, nay
the defires and propenfities of our very nature itfelf ? The amorous fighs of
pining nuns» the furtive gratifications of monks, the fecret and crying fins of
ecclefiaftics» their infringements of the matrimonial tie» the accumulation of
property in mortmain, the pampered ambition of the ifolated body of the
clergy, and every irreguhirity, that muil necelTarily grow out of it, gave Gre«
gory the Vllth no concern ^ but their confequences fland conipicuous in the
page of biftory.
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Chap. II.] Effeä of the Hierarchy on Europe. gj^
5. The pilgrimages of holy idlers, too, dcfcrve no great commendation.
Where they were not immediately fubfervient to commerce and the arts in a
dandeftinc manner, they contributed but very imperfedly and cafually to the
knowledge of men and countries. Certainly it was very commodious, under
the facred garb of a pilgrim to find every where fecurity, in beneficent convents
food and repofe, on every road travelling companions, and at lafl, in the (hade
of a temple, or facred grove, the defired comfort and abfolution. But if the
pleafing revery be reduced to the ftandard of truth, we (hall frequently deteft,
beneath the holy palmer's weeds, fome malefaftor, de(irous o( atoning for fla-
grant crimes by an eafy pilgrimage, or fome infane devotee, who has forfaken
houfe and home, perhaps bedowed all he had on fome convent, renounced the
firft duties of his condition, or of man, to remain for the reft of his life a rotten
limb of fociety, a haüijnad, arrogant, or diflTolute fool. The life of a pilgrim
had fcldom any claim to fanftity j and the maintenance, which they ftill derive
from certain ftates at the chief places of their reibrt, is an a&ual robbery of the
country. The fmgle circumftances, that this pious rage of performing pilgri-
mages to Jcrufalem produced among other things the croifades, gave birth to
many ecclefiaftical orders, and miferably depopulated Europe, alone bear fufE«
cient teftimony againft thems and If miflionaries made them their ftalking-
horfe, they had certainly no good purpofe in view»
6. Laftly, much may be urged againft t^e colloquial latin of the monks, the ianJ
by which all roman catholic countries were unqueftionably united. This not
only contributed, to keep the vernacular languages of the nations that inha-
bited Europe, and with them the people themfclves, in an uncultivated ftate ;
but it was particularly inftrumental in depriving the people of their laft (hare
in public affain, becaufe they were ignorant of latin. The public buiinefs of
the nation loft a great part of the national character, with the vernacular
tongue ; while with the monkiih latin crept in that pious monkifh (pint, which
could flatter, enfnarc, or even falfify, as it faw occafion. The writing of all
the public ads of the nations of Europe in general, their laws, decrees, tefta-
ments, commercial inftruments, titledeeds, and likewife hiftory, for fo many
centuries, in latin, could not be otherwife than advantageous to the clergy, as
the body of the learned, and prejudicial to the nation. The cultivation of it's
mother tongue alone can lift a nation out of a ftate of barbarifm : and this
very reafön kept Europe fo long barbarous j a foreign language fettering for
near ten centuries the natural orgr.ns of it's inhabitants, robbing them even
of the remains of their monuments, and rendering a native code of laws, a na-
tive conftitutionj and a national hiftory, utterly unaLtainable by them ior Co
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576 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Booil XIX.
longa period. The ruffian biftory alone is founded on documents in the
language of the country ; and this is owing to the ftate having lemained un*
connected with the hierarchy of the pope of Rome, whofe l^ates Wladimir
would not receive. In all other countries of Europe the monkifh language has
ftifled every thing fufceptible of being ftifled by it» and is to be commended
only as a language of neceffity, or the flender plank, on which the literature of
antiquity faved itfelf for better times.
Thcfe rcftriftions of the praife of the middle ages I have written with, reluc-
tance. I am fully fenfible of the value, that many inftitutions of the hierarchy
poiTefs even with refpeft to us ; and of the neceffity of the times, in which they
were formed ; and I delight to wander amid the awful gloom of their venerable
piles. As a coarfe medium of conveyance to us, capable of withftanding the
ftorms of barbarifm, it is eftimable, and evinces both the ability and circum-
fpedion of thofe, who committed treafures to it's charge ; but it would be ab-
furd to afcribe to it an abfolute and permanent value for all ages. When the
feed is ripe^ the integument burfts.
CHAPTER m.
Temporal Protestors of the Church.
The kings of germanic tribes and nations were originally generals appointed
by eleftion, the fuperintendants, the chief judges of the people. As ibon as they
came to be anointed by bifbops, they were kings by divine right, the protedon
of the church of their country. When the pope inaugurated the roman em-
peror, he appointed himfelf his coadjutor : he the Sun, the emperor the Moon,
the other kings the ftars, of the catholic church. This fyftem, planned in dark-
jiefs, was firft brought out in the twilight, but foon glared into broad day.
Already the fon of Charlemagne laid down his fceptre at the command of the
bifliops, and would not ^ain take it up, without their frefli injundlion : under
his fucceflbrs the compafl: was frequently repeated, that the kings mould con-
fider their fpiritual iind temporal orders as coadjutors in the afiairs of the
church and of the ftate. Laftly, the Pfeudo Ifidorus made the principle uni-
verfal, that the power of the keys authorifed the pope, to lay princes and
kings under his ban, and declare them incapable of ruling their ftates. Over
the roman imperial crown in particular the pope arrogated to himfelf many
rights, and they were not difputed. Henry of Saxony ftyled himfelf only
king of Germany, till he was inaugurated emperor by the pope. Otto, and
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Chap, ni.] Temporal ProteSlors of the Church. 577
his fucccffors down to Frederic II, received from the pope the imperial fceptre,
and imagined they thus acquired precedency, or indeed a fort of fovereignty, over
all the kings of chriftendom. They, who often found it difficult to govern their
german dominions, were offended when any thing, of which they did not con*
fer the inveftiture, was taken from the grecian empire: they made war upon the
heathen, and placed bifliops in thofe lands. When the pope created a chrif-
tian king in Hungary, the firfl: chriftian prince in Poland was a vafTal of
the german empire, and many wars afterward arofe on account of this ^^^^'
feudal dependency. The emperor Henry II received from the pope the golden
imperial ball, as an emblem, that the World belonged to him : and Frederic II
was laid under the pope's ban, becaufe he declined the croifade he was enjoined
to undertake. A council depofed him : the pope declared the imperial throne
vacant ; and fo low was it degraded, that no foreign prince would accept it.
Thus the chriftian Sun had proved a bad affiftant to his Moon; as the pro-
teftionof chriftendom had at length reduced the german emperor to a ftate
of inability to proteft himfclf. He was to travel about, hold diets and tribu'
nals, and confer fiefs, fceptres, and crowns, according to the diredtions of the
pope ; who, from his feat on the Tiber, governed the World by his legates,
bulls, and interdiftions. There is not a catholic kingdom in Europe, which
has not confidered it's king as a proteftor of the church, under the fovereign
guidance of the pope : nay for a certain period thb was the public law of
Europe*.
All the internal regulations of kingdoms could not avoid being conformable
to this notion: for the church was not in the ftate, but the ftate in the
church.
I. As the fpiritual and temporal orders every where compofed the ftates of
the kmgdom, the moft important political, military, and feudal cuftoms were
ftamped as it were with the feal of the church. The kings held their grand
court-days on the ecclefiaftical feftivals : the ceremony of crowning them was
performed in churches : their coronation oath was taken on the gofpels, and on
relics : their drcfs, their crown, and their fword, were confecrated. They them-
felves were confidered, in confequence of their office, as fervants of the church;
and enjoyed the privileges of the clerical order. All the feftivities of the ftate
* Leibnitz has toucJied upon this notion in German Conftitation,' gives a fine clew to it»
many of his writings, and occafionally admit- which« in former times, ]ed every fUtift, after,
ted it in his biftorica! fyllem. Puetter's Gef- his manner, to the prerogatives or pretenfioni
cbichtt der Entwicklung dtr Diutfcben Staaffver- of the german empire.
fajfung^ < Hiftory of the Developement of the
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578 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [»ook XIX.
were more or lefs conneAcd with mafies and reltgioiL The firft fword givea
to the bachelor knight was confecrated upon the altar ; and wiiea knighthood
in time arrived at the folemnities of an onler, one third of thefe confifted la
religious ceremonies. Piety took it's place in the- order with love and honour :
for it was the profcffed objeft of all the orders of chivalry^ to draw the fword
in defence of chriftendom, as well as of injured innocence and virtue. Chrift
and the apoftlcs, the mother of God, and other fainte, had long been the pa-
trons of chriftendom» of all conditions and offices, of partic^ilar companies of
mechanics^ churches, abbeys, caftles« and families : their images ibon became
the banners of armtes« flandards, {eals : their names, the watchword, and the
fhout of onfet. Men took up their fwords at the reading of the Golpd ;
and went to battle with a kyrU eleefon *. Praftice» of this kind fo prepared the
way for war againft heretics, heathens, and infidels, that a loud cry, well
timed, and accompanied with fpiritual enflgns and promiies, was fufficient to
fet all Europe on the ikracens, albigenfes, flavians,. pruilians, and poks. Nay
the knight and the monk could coalefce in the lingular fhape of a fpiritual
order of chivalry : and in particular cafes bifhops, abbots,, and even p(^>e5
themfelves, exchanged the crofier for the fword.
The abovementioned foundation of the kingdom of Hungary by the hand
of the pope afForas us a brief example of thefe manners. The emperor and the
empire had long confidered,. how the (avage and often defeated hungarians
might be reduced to a ftate of tranquillity. Their converfion to chriftianity was
the fole mean, by which it could be eflefted : and this being. accompliihed after
coniiderable labour, a king educated in the chriftian religion, St. Stephen, pur-
fuing himfelf the work of converfion, an apoftolical crown, probably an avarian
robbery, was fent him ; he received, too, the holy lance, or hungarian battle-
axe, and St. Stephen's fword, to proteA and extend the church toward all
quarters of the Globes and^ at the fame time^the imperial ball, the epifcopal
glove, and the crofier. He was appointed the pope's legate ; and delayed not>
to found a canonry at Rome, a convent at Conftantinople, and hofpitals, hof-
telries, and religious houfes, at Ravenna and Jerufalem ; to turn the road of
the pilgrims through his country ; to invite priefts, bifliops, and monks, firom
Greece, Bohemia, Bavaria, Saxony, Auftria, and Venice : to eredk the arch*
bißiopric of Gran, with a number of bifhoprics, and convents ; and to make
of the bifhops, who were not exempt from the duties of the field, one of the
eftates of his kingdom. He promulgated a code, the fpiritual part of which
* ' The Lord have mercy apon us :' the form of Tolemn inrocation in the romifh litnr^. T«
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Chap, in.] Temporal ProteEhrs of lie Church. 579
was borrowed from capitularies of the weft, particularly thofc of the franks,
and ecdefiaftical decrees of Mentz ; and left it to his fucceflbrs, as the funda-
tnental law of the new chriftian kmgdom. This was the fpirit of the times :
the whole conftitution of Hungary, the relations and condition of it's inhabi-
tants, were built upon it : and it was the fame in Poland, in Naples and Sicily,
In Denmark, and in Sweden, with fome trifling variations, according to the
circiunllances of time and place. All floated on the ocean of the church ; the
epifcopal power formed the (larboard fide of the veflel; the feudal fyftem, the
larboard ; the king, or the emperor, Icrved as a (ail ; and the pope ftood at the
helm.
2. In all kingdoms the adminißration of jnfiic^ was «ich-catholic. The cuf-
toms and ftatutes of the people muft bend before the decrees of the pope and
«cclefiaftical councils: nay, before the roman jurifprudence prevailed, the canon
law was introduced. It cannot be denied, that many rude aiperities of the
people were thus rubbed off: for even when Religion (looped to confecrate the
trial by combat, or exchange it for the ordeal, (he laid the(e under fome re-
ftramt, and at leaft reduced fuperftition within lefs pernicious limits *. Ab-
bots and bi(hops were the arbitrators of peace and miniftcrs of divine juftice
upon Earth : ecclefiaftics, for the moft part, were the clerks of courts of juftice,
the makers of laws, ordinances, and capitularies, and often ambaiTadors on the
moft important occafions. The judicial authority, which they enjoyed among
the heathen of the north, was retained among the chriftians; till, at a late pe-
riod, they were thruft out of their feats by the doAors of law. Monks and
confefibrs were often the oracles of princes; and in the vile affair of the crot-
fades, St. Bernard was the oracle of Europe.
3. The little pkyßc of the middle ages, except what was praÄifed by the arabs
and jewS|,was in the hands of the clei^; whence, as among the northern pa-
gans, it was a tifTue of fuperftition. The devil and the crofs, relics and fet
forms of words, afted the moft confpicuous parts in it i for the true knowledge
of nature, a few traditions excepted, had vani(hed from Europe. Hence fo
many difea&s, that with infedious rage traverfed whole countries, under the
appellations of the leprofy, the plague, the black death, St. Vitus's dance : no
one rcfifted their progrcfs, for no one was acquainted with them, or knew their
proper remedies. Uncleanline(8 in drefs, the want of linen, couiined habita-
• No one, co my knowledge, haj (hown tht more infiruftive and philofophical manner»
good effed« t>f the ecdefiaftical domination in than John Mueller, in hts Sch^viixn^e/ckichu,
tranqaillizing the then turbulent World» and «Hiftory of Switzerland.' This fide is not to
{>roinotlng the cultivation of tlie land, in a be overlookcdi though it b hue one fide.
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58o PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY [Book XIX.
tions, and even the imagination clouded by fupcrftition, could not fail to pro-
mote them. It would have been a tmly guardian ofiice, if all Europe had
Gombincdj under the direftion of the emperor, the pope, and the church«
againft the influx of fuch pefls, as real works of the devil, and left neither
fmall-pox, plague, nor leprofy, in their land : but they were permitted to en-
ter, rage, and deftrojs till the poifon exhaufted itfelf. To the church, how-
ever, we are indebted for the few inftitutions formed to counteraft them:
that was done as a work of compaflion> which men yet wanted &iU to performr
as a work of art *.
4. The fciences were not fo properly in the flate, as in the church. What
the church thought fit was written and taught : all iflued from the fchools of
monks: accordingly the monkifli manner of thinking prevailed in the few
literary produftions, that then appeared. Even hiftory was written for the
church, not for the ftate, for very few except monks read ; and hence the bell
authors of the middle ages fmack of the cloifter. Legends and romances, to
which the invention was then confined, paced round in a narrow circle : for
few writings of the ancients had any circulation, fo that few ideas had an op-
portunity of being compared, and the images chriftianity then afforded were fooa
exhaufled. Belides, this allowed no poetical mythology : a few circumftances
from the ancient hiftory, or fables, of Rome and Troy, intcrfperfed with the
occurrences of more recent times, formed aU the rude fcenes of the poetry of
the middle ages. And as foon as thefe began to be diffufed in the language of
the country, fpiritual fubjefts were brought forward, with a lingular intermix-
ture of heroic fables, and tales of chivalry. On the whole, neither popes nor
emperors + gave themfelves any concern about literature, confidered as a mean
of diflFufing knowledge; the fcience of jurifprudence alone excepted, which was
indifpenfable, to fupport the pretenfions of both: A pope like Gerbert, who
loved the fciences as a man of leamingj was a phenix indeed : the fhip of the
church was ballafted with the fciences of the convent.
5. In like manner, of the arts thof^ only were cheriflied, without which
neither churches^ nor caftles, nor towers, could exift. Gothic architefture, as
• The hiftorics of the fmall-pox, plague, le- Ge/cbicbte dtr Wißnfcbaften in /ier Mmrk Brmh»
profy, &c., are known from the wriüngs of denburg^ ' Hiftory of Sciences in the Marche of
many flcilful phyficians ; who have likewifc Brandenburg.'
propofed means for eradicating thefe evils« f The particular exceptions to this meUn-
and in fome degree accompliihed their pur«- choly truth will be noticed io tk'e fbUowxag
pofe. Good accounts of the art of phyfic, and book. Here the fubje^ is merely the Spirit of
the medical eftablifhments, of the middle ages» the times*
with remarks, may be found in Moehfen's
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Chap. III.] Temporal Prote£lors of the Church. 581
it is called, fo thoroughly accorded with the fpirit of the times, the religion and
way of life, the wants and climate, of it's contemporaries; that it fartiioned it-
felf as individually and feafonably, as monkery or knighthood, or as the hier-
archy and feudal fyftem. Among the inferiour arts fuch maintained and im-
proved themfelves, as were employed in adorning the arms of the knight, and
in the decorations and ceremonies of the church, the caftle, or the convent:
their produftions were fculpture and mofaic, painted windows and illuminated
books, reprefentations of faints, tapeftry, ftirines for relics, pixes, chalices, and
goblets. From thefe, not excluding church mufic, or the huntfman's horn,
the revival of the arts in Europe commenced : how different from what was
once in Greece * !
6. The trade and commerce of Europe, too, received their broad and deeply
indented outJine from the all-grafping ecclefiaftical and feudal fyftems. The
Doblcft tutelary offices of emperors and kings were unqueftionably their de-
livering towns from plundering violence, and artifts and tradefmen from the
yoke of vaiTalage; their protefting and promoting the free exercife of induftry
and commerce, by juftice, exemption from impofts, peaceable fairs, and fecure
roads ; their endeavouring to annihilate the barbarian right of wreck, and to
exonerate the ufeful inhabitants of the town and country from other oppreffive
burdens : to all which the church very honourably contributed -f. The bold
idea of Frederic 11, however, to abolifli all guilds and confraternities in his
towns, went far beyond his age, like many others of his aÄive mind. Corpo-
rate bodies were ftill neceffary, in which, as in the fyftems of chivalry and mo-
nachifm, all (hould be anfwerable for each, and, even in the mod trifling occu-
pations, the learner fhould rife by degrees ; as the monk or the foldier rofe in
hb order. In both, ever}' higher ftep was accompanied with fimilar feftivities ;
and the fpirit of guilds and affociations was extended even to commerce. It's
greatefl combination, the hanfe itfelf, arofe from fraternities of merchants, who
firft travelled about like pilgiims : danger and neceffity by fea and land ex-
tended the union higher and farther, till at length, under the proteftion of
* A hiftojy of the arts in the middle ages, tions of modern days, might be collefled ma-
pArticoIarly of gothic architecture as it is terials for a Geneial Hidory of Trade andNa^
called, in their different periods, would be a vigation, very different from that which was
work well deferving perufal: a fele&ion of publifhed at Breilaw in 1754. or from what was
fuch efTays as dcfervc general notice, from the in Anderfon*s power to give in his valuable
works of the Britifli Antiquary Society, would Hiftory of Commerce. A hiftory of the arts,
fenre as a preliminary to it. manufadures, guildp, towns, and municipal
f Fiiher's Hillory of the Trade of Germany laws, of the middle ages, is likewife a defirable
has already been quoted as a collection of im- work»
porunt inqoiries : from it, and other publica-
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iSz PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIX.
european chriftendom, fuch a widefpread commercial republic arofe, as the World
had otiienvife never feen. Afterwards the univerfities were fimilar guilds:
gothic inftitutions, fuch as neither greeks, romans, nor afiatics, ever knew ;
but, as inftitutions of monachifm and chivalry, indifpenfable to the times, and
beneficial to future ages by the prcfervation of the fciences. In the middle
ages, too, a particular municipal law arofe ; very different from that of the ro-
mans, but creftcd on the bafis of liberty and fccurity, accordmg to german prin-
ciples, and produktive of induftry, arts, and fubiiftence, on every finvouiable
foil. It bears marks of it*s origin amid the preflure of princes, nobles, and ec-
clefiaftics ^ yet operated powerfully on the civilization of Europe. In (hori
whatever could arife under the comprefled arch of the hierarchy, feudal fyftemp
and tutelary fuperintendance, has arifen; the firm edifice of gothic archite&ure
feems to want but one thing, light. Let us fee in what fingular ways it
acquired this«
CHAPTER IV.
Kingdoms of the Arabs.
The arabian peninfula is one of the moft diftinguHhed regions of the Eartli,
apparently intended by Nature herielf, to ftamp a peculiar charafter on it's
nation. The great defert between Syria and Egypt, extending fix)m AIq>po to
the Euphrates, afForded, like * fouthern Ta4auy, ample room for the predatory
and paiftoral life, and lus been poflefled by tribes of wandering arahs from the
remoteft periods. The mode of life of thefe people, to whom a town appeared
a prifon ; their pride of an ancient indigenous origin, of their god, their rich
and poetic language, their noble horfes, their fword and bow, with eveiy thing
elfe which they fancied facred to themfelves ; feem to have prepared the arab$
for a part, which in due time they performed in three quarters of the Globe,
an a manner very different from the tatars of the north.
Even in the age of ignorance, as they call their ancient hiftory, they ex-
tended themfelves beyond their peninfula : in Irak and Syria they had founded
fmall kingdoms; fome of their tribes dwelt in Egypt; the abyffmians were dc-
fcended from them, the whole of the african defert appeared to be their inhe-
ritance. Their peninfula was feparated from the great body of Afia by the
defert, which proteded them againft the frequent expeditions of it's conquerors :
they remained free, and proud of their defcent, of the nobility of their families,
of their unconquered valour, and their uncontaminated language. With this
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Crat. IV.] Kingdoms of the Arabs. 583
they were the centre of the fouthcrn and eaftern tradc> and confcqucntly
m the way of acquiring the knowledge of all the nations, that carried on this
trade, in which, from the happy iituation of their country, they could not
avoid taking part. Thus at an early period an intelleftual culture arofe here,
which the Altai or Ural could never have produced : the arabian Ian*
guage formed itfelf to an ingenuity in figurative eloquence and prudential
apophthegms, long before they, by whom it was fpoken, knew how to
commit them to writing. On their Sinai the hebrews received their law, and
among them they almoft always dwelt. When chriftians arofe, and perfecuted
each other, chriftian fefts alio repaired to them. Could it be otherwife, then,
that from the mixture of jewifh, chriftian, and native ideas, among fuch a
people, with fuch a language, a new flower in due time fhould appear? and
when it appeared, could it fail, from this point between three quarters of the
Globe, to obtain the moft extenfive fpread from commerce, wars, foreign ex-
peditions, and books ? Thus the odoriferous (hrub of arabian fame, fpringing
from fuch an arid foil, is a very natural phenomenon, the moment a man arofe»
who knew how to rear it into bloflbm*
In the beginning of the feventh centur}' this man did arifc \ a Angular com-
pound of whatever the nation, tribe, time, and country, could produce ; mer-
chant, prophet, orator, poet, hero, and legiflator; all after the arabian manner.
Mohammed * was bom of the nobleft tribe in Arabia, the guardian of the
pureft dialed, and of the Caaba, the ancient fandtuary of the nation \
a boy of confiderable beauty, not rich, but educated in the family of
a man of confcquence. Already in his youth he had enjoyed the honour of
replacing the facred black ftonc in it's former fituation, in the name of the
whole people : circumftances brought him early acquainted, on his commer-
cial journeys, with other nations and religions, and led him to the acquifi-
tion of confiderable property. The praifcs beftowed on him as an extraordi*-
nary youth, the dignity of his tribe and family, and his early employment in
the affair of the Caaba, no doubt operated powerfully on his mind; the ini*
preffion he had received of the ftate of chriflianity united with thefe; before
him flood mount Sinai decorated with a hundred tales from ancient hiflory ^
the belief in divine infpirations and miflions was common to all thefe religions,
natural to the national way of thinking, and flattering to his own chara&er:
* Not to mentioD Sale's Introdudlion to the Mohain*-nedl« which is feparately tranflated into
Koran, Gagnier's Life of Mohammed, and german, has given feme excellent obftrvatioas
other writers, who have recurred to ara- on Ms fitaation and million,
bian dociunenti, Breqaigni, in his KiTay on
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584 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIX
all thefe probably afted fo deeply on his mind, in the fifteen years during which
he led a life of contemplation, that he believed himfelfj the koreißi, himjelfxht^
diftinguiflied man, chofen to reftore the doftrincs and duties of the religion of
his fathers, and to neveal himfelf as u fervant of God. Not the dream of his
celeftial journey alone, but his life, and the Koran itfelf, evince the fervour of
his imagination, and that no artfully concerted deception was neceflary to the
perfuafion of his prophetic call. Mohammed came forward on the ilage, not
in the ebullition of youthful blood, but in the fortieth year of his j^e ; firfl as
the prophet of his houfe, who revealed himfclf only to few, and gained fcarcely
fix followers in three years-: and when, at the celebrated feafl of Ali, he bad
announced his miffion to forty perfons of his tribe, he thenceforward expofed
himfelf freely to every thing a prophet has to expeft from the oppofition of the
incredulous. His followers jufUy compute their time from the year of his
flight to Yaireb (Medina) : in Mecca his undertaking would have mifcarricd,
if his life had not been loft.
Thus, if deteftation of the barbarous idolatry, which he faw praftifed by his
tribe, and imagined he perceived in chriftianity ; with an ardent zeal for the doc-
trine of the unity of God, and a mode of ferving him by purity, devotion, and be-
neficence J appear to have been the grounds of his prophetic miffion : corrupted
traditions of chriftians and jews, the poetical way of thinking of his nation, the
dialect of his tribe, and his perfonal talents, may be confidered as the wings,
that bore him above and out of himfelf. His Koran, that wonderful mixture
of poetry, eloquence, ignorance, fagacity, and arrogance, is a mirror of his mind ;
difplaying his talents and defedts, his faults «nd propenfittes, the felf-deception
and necefTary pretext with which he impofed upon himfelf and others, much
more perfpicuoully, than any other Koran of any prophet. He delivered it in
feparate fragments, as they were called for by occafional circumftances, or when
his mind was rapt by contemplation, without thinking of a written (yftem :
it confifted of the ebullitions of his imagination, or prophetic difcourfes of
cenfure and exhortarion, at which at other times he himfelf was aftoniftied, as
fomething above his powers, as a divine gift entrufted to his charge. Hence,
like all men of flrong minds under the influence of felf-deception, he required
faith, which at length he contrived to extort even from his bittereft enemies.
Scarcely was he lord of Arabia, when he fent his apoftles to all the neighbour*
ing kingdoms, Perfia, Ethiopia, Yemen, nay to the greek emperor himfelf j con-
sidering his doftrines, local as they were, as the religion of all nations. The
ftern cxprefuons that fell from him, when his ambafTadors returned, and
brpught him the refufals of the kings \ together with the celebrated paflage of
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Chap. IV.] Kingdoms of the Arabs. 585
the Koran, in the chapter of the Declaration of Immunity * j afforded his fuc-
ceffors fufEcient grounds, to purfue the converfion of nations, from which tlie
prophet was prevented by his early death. To this, alas, chriflianity taught
him the way ; chriflianity, the firft of all religions, that impofed it's belief
upon foreign nations, as the neceffary condition of falvation : the arab, how-
ever, converted not by means of women, monks, and underhand praöices, but
in a manner fuited to an inhabitant of the wildernefs, with fword in hand, and
the authoritative demand, * belief, or tribute !'
After Mohammed's death, war fpread itfelf over Babylon, Syria, Perfia, and
Egypt, like the burning wind of the defert. The arabs went to battle, as to
the fervicc of God, armed with texts of the Koran, and the hopes of Paradife.
At the fame time they wanted not perfonal virtue : for as the firft khalifs of the
houfe of Mohammed were juft, temperate, and excellent men, their blind zeal
excepted ; fo their armies were led by valiant and able generals, as Khaled,
Amru, Abu-Obeidah, and many others. They found the empires of the per-
fians and greeks fo badly conftituted, the chriftian fefts fo inveterate in their
hatred to each other, perfidy, voluptuoufnefs, felfiflinefs, treachery, pride, va-
nity, cruelty, and oppreflion, fo univcrfally prevalent, that in the dreadful hiftory
of thefe wars we feem to read a fable of a troop of lions breaking into the folds
of flieep and goats, into &rms abounding vdth fat oxen, gaudy peacocks, and
faelplefs Iambs. Thefe degenerate people were for the moft part a contemptible
race, deferving to ride upon afTes, as incapable of managing the generous fteed,
and unworthy the crofs upon their churches, which they were unable to defend.
What pomp of patriarchs, pricfts, and monks, in thefe rich and extenfive
regions, was now laid at once in the duft !
With this was funk in a moment, as by an earthquake, the remains of that
ancient grecian cultivation and roman grandeur, which chriftianity was inca-
pable of demolilhing. The moft ancient cities of the World, and with them
innumerable treafures, fell into the bands of valiant robbers, who at firft
fcarcely knew the worth of gold. Above all we have to lament the fate, that
befel the remains of fcicnce. John the Grammarian begged the library of Alex-
andria (what would the fool have done with the prefent ?), on which the con-
queror, Amru, had never once thought. The petition was referred to the kha-
lif Onur, who anfwered it by that celebrated argument, which deferves for
* • Fight agninft them who believe not in onto whom the Scriptures have been delivered,
God, nor in the lail day, who forbid not that until they pay tribute by right of fubjedion,
which God, and his apoftle, have forbidden, and they be reduced low.* Koran [Sale's ver-
and wiiO profefi not thetnie religion, of thofe fion, chap. IX.]
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586 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIX.
ever to bear the name of the khaliPs fyllogifm * j and the books were com-
mitted to the flames. Above a thoufand warm baths were heated with them
conftantly for fix months ; and thus the moil precious thoughts, the moil in-
difpenfable records, the moft elaborate fyilems in the World, with every
thing that depended upon them for ages to come, was at once loft through
the foolifh requeft of a grammarian, and the pious fimplicity of a khalif. Gladly
would the arabs have recovered this treafure, when a century aftenvards they
were fenfible of it's value.
Almoft immediately after the death of Mohammed diflcnfions arofc, which,
on the deceafe of Ofman, the third khalif, might foon have checked the con-
quefts of the arabs, if the valiant, honeft, long opprefled Ali, and his fon HafTan,
had not eftabliflied the houfe of the Ommiades. In the perfon of Moawiyali
this now feated itfelf in the high prieft's chair, of which it mamtained the he»-
55 J reditary pofleffion for ninety-years. Damafcus was made the feat of the
to khalifs : the arabs foon became a maritime power : and, under an heredi-
75^» tary government, fplendour aflumed the place of the former fimplicity of
the court. In Syria, Mefopotamia, Afia Minor, and Africa, indeed, the work
of conqueft ftill went on : Conftantinople was more than once befieged, but
in vain : under Al Waled, Turkeftan was taken, and an inroad made even into
India : Tarik and Mufa conquered Spain with extraordinary fuccefs j and the
latter conceived the vaft project of forming, by the addition of France, Ger-
many, Hungary, and all the country even beyond Conftantinople, a more ex^
tenfive empire, than the romans had accumulated in the courfe of fe\'cral cen-
turies. But how completely was this projeft fruftrated ! All the incurfions of
the arabs into France mifcarried : in Spain itfelf they loft province after pro«-
vince by inceffant revolts : Conftantinople was not yet ripe for conqueft : and,
even under fome of the Ommiades, turkifli tribes, aftenvaais dcftined to be-
come the conquerors of the arabs tliemfelves, began to try their fbength in
5^2 ^^^ field. On the whole, the firft overwhelming flood of their military
to fuccefs fubfided with the thirty years of their early enthufiafm, when
^^'« the houfe of Mohammed (at on the throne: under the hereditary Om*-
miades, their conqucfts proceeded, amid various internal diffenfions, with flower
and often interrupted fteps.
The houfe of the AbafTides followed, who removed their refidencc- from Da^-
• ' What is cofltained in the books, of which Koran is fuincient v ithout it; if it be contra-
thou fpeakeft, either agrees with what it writ- diflory to it> ic is fit that the books (hould be
ten in the book of God, the Koran, or it is dcftjoyed.'
contradictor/ to it. If it a^ce with it, the
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C H A p . I V .] KingJoms of the Arabs. 587
mafcus, and wLofe (econd khalif, Al-Manfar, built Bagdad, as the feat of gc-
vernmcnt, in the centre of his dominions. The court of the khalifs now at-
tained the fummit of it's fplendour; and it was alfo vifitcd by the arts and
fciences, in regard to which the names of Al-Rafchid and Al-Mamoun will ever
be celebrated. Under thjs race, however, lefs was done toward foreign con-
queft, than for the confervation of the monarchy itfelf. Already under Al-
Manfur, the fecond of this family, Abderahman, the fupplantcd heir of the
Ommiades, founded a feparate, independent khalifate in Spain, which ^^^
continued almoft three hundred years, and was afterwards divided into to
ten kingdoms, which were for fome time fliared among different ^o^3-
arabian families, but never reunited to the khalifate of Bagdad. On 788.
the weftern coaft of african Barbary (Mogreb) the Edrifiates, a branch 789.
of the family of Ali, tore off a kingdom, where they laid the foundations of the
city of Fez. In the reign of Haroun Al-Rafchid, his viceroy at Kairwan (Cy-
rene) in Africa made himfelf independent. The fon of this viceroy con- 800.
quered Sicily. His Succcffors, the Aglabites, removed their refidcnce to 894.
Tunis, where they conftruded the great aqueduft ; and their kingdom goo.
endured above a hundred years. In Egypt the attempts of the vice- to
toys to render themfelves independent were at firft attended with doubt- 908.
ful fucccfs, till thcfamily of the Fatimites fwallowcd up thofc of the Edrifiates
and Aglabites, and founded a third khalifate, extending from Fez to Afia,
and including Tunis, Sicily, and Egypt.
Thus there were now three khalifates, at Bagdad, Cairo, and Cordova.
However, the kingdom of the Fatimites alfo fell to ruin : curds and zeirites
divided it between them; and the valiant Saladin (Selah-eddin), the grand
vifu" of the khalifs, fupplantcd his matters, and founded the kingdom of 1 1 71.
the curds in Egj-pt j which afterward fell into the hands of the life-guards
{mama/ukesy or flaves), who were at length difpoffeffed of it by the of- j^-^
mans. Thus affairs went on throughout all the provinces. In Africa, to
zeirites, morabethians, muahedians, afted their refpeftivc parts; in 'S^?-
Arabia, Perfia, and Syria, dynaftics of every nation and family ; till at length
the turks (feljuks, curds, arabecks, turcomans, mamalukes, &c.) got every
thing into their hands, and the mungals took Bagdad itfelf by ftomi. The
fon of the laft khalif of Bagdad fled to Egypt, where the mamalukes left 1 258.
him his empty title 1 till, on the conqucft of this country by the ofmans, 1 5 1 7.
the 1 8th of tbefc dethroned princes was carried to Conftantinople, but foon
Tent back to Egypt, there miferably to clofc the lift of thcfc arabian 1538.
emperor-popes. The fplcndid empire of the arabs was loft in the turkifli.
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588 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIX.
perfian, and mungal -, parts of it fell under the dominion of the chriftians,
or became independent ; and moil of it's nations flill continue to live amid
perpetual revolutions.
The caufes both of the fpeedy decline of this vaft monarch}', and of the
revolutions by which it was inceflantly perturbed and torn, were inherent in
it*s nature, arifing from it's origin and conftitution.
I , T/ie arabian power arofe from the virtues of enthiffiaftny and could be upheld
only by theje virtues ; by valour and fidelity to the law, by virtues of the defert.
While their khalifs, either in Mecca, Cufa, or Medina, adhered to the rigid
mode of life of their firft four great predeccflbrs, and poffefled the magic means of
binding all their generals and viceroys to their commands with this ftrong bond,
what power could injure this nation ? But when the pofTeffion of fo many fine
countries introduced, with a widely extended commerce, wealth, pomp, and
luxury ; and the hereditary throne of the khalifs attained fuch fplendour in
Damafcus, and ftill more in Bagdad, that the defcription of it appears like a
fable of the Arabian Nights Entertainments ; the drama, that has been aAed
a thoufand times on the ftage of the World, was repeated : VoluptuouGiefe in-
troduced Effeminacy, and at length enfeebled Refinement funk beneath the
arm of rude Strepgth. The firft of the Abaffides created a gi'and vifir j and
tinder his fucceffors the authority of this officer grew up to the tremendous
power of an emir al omrah (emir of emirs), and was defpotic over the khalif him-
fclf. As mod of thefc vifirs were turks, and the life-guards of the khalif were
compofed of the fame people j the evil, that was foon to overpower the whole
body of the monarchy, was feated in it's very vitals. The territories of the
arabs lay along thofe elevated regions, on which thefe warlike people, curds,
turks, mungals, berbcrs, were on the watch like beafls of prcyj and as moft of
them were held unwillingly under the dominion of the arabs, they could not
fail to avenge themfelves, when opportunity offered. Accordingly, what hap-
pened to the roman empire happened here ; vifirs. and mercenaries were con-
verted into fovereigns and defpots»
2. That tie revolution took place more fpeedily with the arabs, than wiih the
tomans, muß be afcribed to the coiifiitution of their monarchy. This was khalific i that
is defpotic in the highcfl degree, the charafters of emperor and pope being moft
intimately combined in that of khalif. The belief of inevitable dcftiny, and the
word of the prophet, which enjoins obedience in the Koran, promoted fubmif-
fion to the word of his fuccefTors, and of their viceroys ; and thus this fpiritual
defpotifm pervaded the government of the whole empire. But how eafy was
the tranfition from the excrcife of defpotic power in another's name to that of
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Chap. IV.] Kingdoms of the Arabs. 589
arbitrary authority in a man's own, particularly in the remote provinces of this
«xtenfivc empire ! Add to this, the viceroys were almoft every where abfolute
lords, the chief art of government of the khalifs confifting in diftributing,
recalling, or changing them, with flcill. Thus, for example, when Mamoun al-
lowed his valiant general Taher too much power in Chorafan, he gave the reins
of independence into his hand ; the countries beyond the Gihon were detached
from the khalifate ; and a way into the heart of the kingdom was opened to the
turks. Thus it went on throughout all the viceroyalties, till the great empire
rcfembled an archipelago of detached illands, fcarcely conneftcd by religion and
language, and in a ftate of the higheft diflurbance within and without. This
empire of varying iflands went on for feven or eight hundred years with fre-
quent change of boundary, till moft, though not all of them, fell under the
power of the ofmans. The empire of the arabs had no conftitution : a circum-
fiance equally unfortunate to the defpot, and to his flavcs. The conftitution
of mohammed'an kingdoms eonfifts in fubmiflion to the will of God, and of hi»
vicegerent} ißamifin,
3. ^he government of the arabian empire was attached to one tribe, and properly
only to one family of this tribe^ the houfe of Mohammed: and as almoft from the
beginning the rightful heir, Ali, was fet afide, kept out of the khalifate for a
confiderable time, and quickly expelled from it with his family, the great
ichifm between the ommiades and alites arofe; which even now continues
with all the animofity of religious rancour between the turks and perfians,
after the lapfe of more than a thoufand years. In remote countries
impoftors arofe, who forced thcmfelves upon the people as relations of
Mohammed, either with fword in hand, or an appearance of fandity : nay,
Mohammed having founded the empire in the charader of a prophet, fanatics
occafionally ventured, to fpeak like him in the name of the Lord. Inftances
of this occurred even in the prophet's lifetime : but Egypt and Africa, were
the peculiar theatres of fuch fanatics and impoftors *•
The religion of Mohammed might appear to have exhaufted the abomina«
tions of fanaticifm and blind credulity, if, alas ! they had not reappeared in other
religions alfo : the deipotifm of the old man of the mountain, however, has no
where been exceeded. This monarch of a diftindl ftate of murderers, praftifed,
nay born to the trade, may fay to any one of his fubjefts : * go, and kill :' he
will do it, though to the facrifice of bis own life. And this kingdom of aflkffins
has continued for centuries«
• SchloBteer't Gi/chicktt «m NwJ^cih Gifihicbaair JräherinJfiik(iwidSpMiiH,^l{]£.
• Uiftory of the North ef Africa }' Cardoase'i tory of the Arabi ia Africa and Spain ;' &c.
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590 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXIX-
CHAPTER V.
EffeEls of the Arabian Kingdoms,
Quick a« the fpread and divifion of the khalifate were, it attained with equal
celerity the period of it's bloom, for which, on a more frigid foil, ten centuries
would fcarcely have fufEced. The genial power of nature, which accelcrai«
the bloflbming of the «aftern plant, difplays itfelf equally in the hiftoFy of thcTc
people.
I . The vaß empire of arabian commerce had an effeft upon the World, which,
proceeding from the local fituation and national charafter of the people,
out-lived their poffeflSons, and flill in part i!urvives. The tribe of Kortiili,
from which Mohammed fprung, and indeed the prophet himfclf, were Icid-
ers of travelling caravans; and Mecca the holy had long been the central
point of an extenfive commerce between various nations. The gulf between
Arabia and Perfia, the Euphrates, and the ports of the Red Sea, were the
famed repofitorics, or roads of conveyance, of the produce of India, in ail ages:
whence many indian wares bore the epithet of arabian, and Arabia itfelf was
called by the name of India. Tribes of thefe aöive arabs had early pofleiSon
of the eaftern fliores of Africa, and were inftruments of the commerce of India
^ven in the times of the romans. Accordingly, when all the country betiveen
the Nile and the Euphrates, and from the Hindus, Ganges, and Oxus, to the
Atlantic ocean, Pyrenees, and Niger, belonged to thefe people, whofe colonics
extended even to the land of Caffraria, they were enabled, to become for a time
the greateft commercial nation on the face of the Globe, Hence Conftantino-
pic fuffered, and Alexandria ihrunk to a village j while Omar was enabled to
build at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates the city of Balfora, which
received and diftributed all the merchandize of the caft. Under the Ommiacjc«
Damafcus became the feat of government j an ancient great emporium, a na-
tural centre of the caravans in it's paradifiacal fituation, the zenith of wealth
670. and induflry. In Africa the city of Kairwan was built fo early as the
969. time of Moawiyah, and afterwards Cairo, through which the trade of
tlv5 World was carried on acrofs the iftlimus of Suez ♦. In the intcriour paru
• Sec Sprt ngel's Ge/cbichte dir Entdickung f, words, and the Gffibicbfi dtt Bandili, * HUtory
io every fcdion of which much is faid in few of Commerce/ already quoted«
1 1 fuppofe b'if C, dir v'ubügßin giografbtjcbtn StttäKjmngen, * Bi&oty of th« noA Ivpoitant gt4|iapUcil !»•
fofcrict** Tt
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CiTAP.V.] EffeSs of the Arabian Kingdoms. 591
of Africa the arabs had monopolized the gold and gum trade, difcovcred the
gold mines of Sofala, and founded the cities of Tombut, Telmafen, and Darah :
on it's eaftern fliores they had planted confiderable colonies and commercial
towns ; and had even extended their fettlements to Madagafcar. When India
was conquered under Waled, as far as Turkeftan and the Ganges, the weftcrn
World was conncfted with the extremities of the eaft. To China they had
early traded, partly in caravans, partly over the fea to Kanfu (Canton). From
this empire they imported brandy, afterward fo inordinately increafcd by the
art of chymiftry, which they firft cultivated ; while, fortunately for Europe, it
was fome centuries later before it (pread over this quarter of the World, with
the pernicious ufe of tea, and of coffee, an arabian drink. They alfo brought
from China into Europe the knowledge of porcelain, and probably of gun-
powder likewife. They were mafters of the coaft: of Malabar; vifited the
Maldivia iflands ; formed fettlements in Malacca ; and taught the malays to
write. More recently they planted colonies and their religion in the Moluc-
cas ; fo that, before the arrival of the portuguefe in thefe feas, the eaft-india
trade was entirely in their hands, and purfued by them to the eaft and the
fouth, without any european rival. Even the great difcoveries of the portu-
guefe by fea, which changed the whole face of Europe, were led on by war with
rhe arabs, and the chriftian zeal of fubduing them in Africa.
2. The religion and language of the arabs produced another important effeft
on many nations of three quarters of the Globe. For while every where,
throughout their extenfive conquefts, they preached iflamifm or trrbutary fub-
miflion, the religion of Mohammed extended eaftward to the Gihon and the
Hindus; weft ward, to Fez and Morocco; northward, beyond Caucafus and
Imaus; fouthward, to Senegal, Caffraria, the two peninfulas of India, and the
neighbouring archipelago; and acquired a greater number of followers than
chriftianity itfelf. Now with regard to the doftrines taught by this religion,
it cannot be denied, that it has raifed the heathen converted to them above
the grofs idolatrous worlhip of the powers of nature, the ftars of Heaven, and
inhabitants of the Earth ; and has rendered them zealous adorers of one God,
the creator, ruler, and judge of the Worid, with daily devotion, with deeds of
cliarity, with clcanlinefs of pcrfon, and with refignation to his wUL By the pro-
hibition of wine, it has fought to prevent drunkenncfs and quarrelling; and by
enjoining abftinence from unclean meats, it has endeavoured to promote tem-
perance, and preferve health. In like manner it has forbidden ufury, avaricious
gambling, and many fuperftitious praftices: and it has railed fevcral nations
out of a favoge or depraved Rate to a middle degree of civilization, fo that the
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592 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIX.
nioflem, or muffulman, profoundly delpifes the vulgar herd of chriftians in their
grofs cxceffes, and particularly in the impurity of their lives. The religion of
Mohammed imprints on the minds of men a degree of tranquillity, an unifor-
mity of charader, which» though they may be as dangerous as ufeful, arc in
themfelves valuable, and deferving efteem : but on the other hand, the poly-
gamy it allows, the prohibition of all inquiry concerning the Koran, and the
dcipotifm it eftablifhes in fpiritual and temporal affairs, cannot eaiily avoid
being attended with pernicious confequences **
Be this religion, however, what it may, it was propagated in a language, the
pureft dialed of Arabia, the pride and delight of the whole nation. No won-
der, therefore, that the other dialedls were thrown by it into (hade, and the
language of the Koran became the viä:orious banner of arabian fovereignty.
Such a common (tandard of the oral and written language is advantageous to
a widely extended, flouri(hing nation« Had the german conquerors of Europe
poflefled a clalTic book of their language, fuch as the Koran was to the arabs,
their tongue would never have been fo overpowered by the latin, and fo many
of their tribes would not have been left in oblivion« But neither Ulphilas, nor
Kaedmon« nor Ottfried, could produce, what Mohammed gave to all his follow-
ers in the Koran ; which is to this day a pledge of their ancient genuine dialedV,
by which they are led to the moft authentic documents of their race, and re«
main one people throughout the whole Earth. The language of the arabs b
their nobleft inheritance i anc} even now it forms in various dialeAs iuch a
bond of intercourfe and commerce, between fo many nations of the eaftem and
fouthern World, as no other language ever equalled. Next to the greek, per-
haps, it is moft worthy too of this general fway : at leaft the //>/f w ß-anca of
thofe countries appears on comparifon with it but as a wretched beggar's
cloak.
3. In this elegant and copious language fciences were cultivated, which,
when roufed by Al-Manfur, Haroun AI-Rafchid, and Mamoun, fprcad
from Bagdad, the fea*t of the Abaflides, north-eaft, and ftill more weftward,
and äouriftied for a confiderable period throughout the extenfive arabian em-
pire. A chain of cities, Balfora, Cufa, Samarcand, Roietta» Cairo, Tunis,
Fez, Morocco, Cordova, &c., were celebrated fchools, whence fciencc was im-
parted to Perfia, India, fome tatarian countries, nay China itfelf; and even
down to the mala]|rs formed the means, whereby Afiaand Africa acquired fomc
• Good renarks on thU fabjeA may be < Oriental BiMiothcci/ Vol* YIII, p. u and
fooDil in Michaelii's Oriinialifihir Biblhtbttkt following.
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Chap, v.] EffeHs of the Arabian Kingdoms. 593
new improvement in civilization. Poetry and philofophy, hiftory and geogra*
phy, philology, mathematics, chymiflry, and phyfic, were cultivated by the
arabs ^ in moft of which the fpirit of nations has felt their influence as inven-
tors or difleminators, thus confening benefits on thofe they conquered.
Poetry was their ancient inheritance : the offspring of freedom, not of a kha«
liPs favour. It flourifhed long before Mohammed j for the (pirit of the nation
was poetical, and a thoufand circumftances ferved to excite this fpirit. Their
country, their way of life, their pilgrimages to Mecca, the poetical coxitefts at
Okhad, the honour in which a rifing poet was held by his tribe ; the pride the
people felt in their language and legends ; their propenfity to adventure, love, and
glory ; and even their love of folitude, thirft of vengeance, and wandering life,
were all incentives to poetry, and their mufc diilinguiflied herfelf by Iplendid
imagery, pride and grandeur of fentiment, acute apophthegms, and fomething
extravagant in the praife or cenfure of the fubjedks of her fong. Her ideas ftand
like detached rocks piercing the clouds: the fire of the arab*s words appals
like the lightning of his fcimitar ; his wit is (harp as the arrow from his bow.
His noble deed is his Pegafus : often uncomely, but intelligent, faithful, and
indefatigable. The poetry of the perfian, on the other hand, which, like his
language, defcended from the arabic, has moulded itfelf to the charaAer of the
nation and country; more voluptuous, foft, and gay, a daughter of the terreftrial
Paradife. And though neither was acquainted with the forms of grecian art,
the epopee, the ode, the paftoral, ftill lefs the drama ; though both, when
they had acquired the knowledge of them, rejedted them as models ; the pe-
culiar poetic talent of the arab and perfian appeared the more diftinftly formed
and beautified on this very account. No nation can boaft of fo many paflionate
votaries of poetry as the arabs, during their golden age : in Afia this paffion
fpread even to the tatarian princes and nobles ; in Spain, to the chriftian. The
gaya ciencia of the limofm or provencal poets was in a manner forced upon them,
or infpired by their arabian foes : and thus Europe by degrees acquired, though
rudely and flowly, an ear for more refined and animated poetry.
The fabulous part of poetry, the romafuey flouriflied more particularly under
an orient iky. An old national ftor}% orally tranfmitted, became in time a
romance : and when the imagination of the people, by whom thefe (lories are
told, has a fixed propenfity to the extravagant, incomprehenfible, grand, and
wonderful, the common is exalted into the rare, the unknown into the extra-
ordinary; to which the oriental eageriy lends an ear, for the inftruftion or
amufement of his leifure honrs, in his tent, on his journies, or in the focial
circle. Even in the time of Mohammed there came among the arabs a perfian
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594 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
merchant with amufmg tales, which filled him with apprehenfions, that they
would obfcure the fables of his Koran : and indeed the moft pleafing fi&ions
of caftern genius appear to be of pcrfian origin. The gay talkativcnefs of the
perfians, and their love of fplendour, gave their ancient tales in time a romantic
form, which was confiderably heightened by creatures of the imagination,
chiefly formed from the animak of the neighbouring mountains. Hence arofe
that Fairyland, the country of the penes and neries, for which the arabs had
icarcely a name, and which was copioufly introduced into the european ro-
mances of the middle ages. Thefe tales were arranged by the arabs at
a much later period, when the brilliant reign of the khalif Haroun Al-Raf-
chid was made the fcene of their adventures ; and this form afforded Europe
a new model, for concealing delicate truths under the fabulous garb of incre-
dible events, and uttering the moft refined maxims (rf policy imder the pretext
of diverting idle hours.
From the romance of the arabs let us turn to it*s fifter, their fhilofophy\
which, according to the oriental mode, was properly erected upon the Koran»
and acquired a fcientific form only from the tranflation of Ariftotle. As the
£mple idea of one God was the bafis c^ the whole religion of Mohammed, (b
we can fcarcely conceive an hypothefis, which the arabs would not conned with
this idea, or deduce from it, while they carried it into their metaphyfical fpe-
culation$, and made it the fubjeft of their lofty encomiums, fentences, and
maxims. They almoft exhaufted the fynthefis of metaphyfical fid ion and
united it with an exalted myfticifm of morality. Sects arofe among them»
which, in their difputes, already exerci(ed a refined criticifm of abftradt reafon *;
and indeed fcarcely left the fchoolmen of the middle ages any thing more to
do, than to adapt their notions to the doftrines of european chriftians. The
jews were the firft fcholars of this metaphyfical theology: afterwards, it came
to the newly ereöed chriftian univerfities, where Ariftotle appeared firft wholly
in the arabian mode, not in the grecian, and greatly polifhed and whetted the
fpeculations, polemics, and language of the fchools. Thus the illiterate Mo-
hammed fliares with the moft learned of the grecian philofophers the honour
of having given the whole metaphyfical fcience of modern times it's direaion :
and as moft of the arabian philofophers were poets alfo, fo among the chriftians
in the middle ages myfticifm was conftantly united with fcholaftic lore, in fuch
a manner, that their boundaries were undiftinguiQiable.
• ' Eint kritik dtr reiniu virimnft: Kritik dir rtini» Vtrmtnfi k the dUe of Kant^a celebrated
woiJt. T,
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Chap. V.] EffeSfs of the Arabian Kingdoms. 5^5
Philology was cultivated by the arabs as the honour of their race; fo that,
bom pride in the beauty and purity of their language, they reckoned up all
it's words» and their inflexions, and in very early times the man of learning
might load threefcore camels with didtionaries. In this fcience, likewiie, the
firft fcholars of the arabs were the jews. They endeavoured to fitbricate for
their much (impler language an artificial grammar after the arabian fiifliion»
which remained in ufe even among the chriftians to the moft recent times : oa
the other hand, in our days men have taken from this very arabic language a
living guide, to lead them back to the natural meaning of hebrew poetry; to
confider as figurative what is figurative, and to fweep away a thouiand idols of
fidlacious hebrew exegefis from the face of the Earth.
In the delivery of hißory the arabs have not been fo happy as the greeks and
romans; for they were deflitute of republics, and confequently flrangers to the
pradtice of philofophically difcuffing public afts and events. They could write
nothing but brief and dry chronicles j or, if they attempted biography, ran the
hazard of falling into poetical panegyric of their hero, and unjuft cenfure of
his enemies. The impartial hiftorical ilyle never formed itfelf among them ;
their hiftories are poems, or interwoven with poetry: but their chronicles,
and geographical accounts of countries, with which they had opportunities of
being acquainted, and which ftill remain unknown to us, fuch as the interiour
of Africa, are of much utility *.
The moft decided merit of the arabs, however, appears in mathematics,
chymiftry, and phyficj in which fciences, augmented by themfelves, they were
the teachen of all Europe. So early as the reign of Al-Mamoun, a degree of
the meridian was meafured on the plain of Sanjar, near Bagdad. In aftronomy,
though compelled to fubferve the purpofes of fuperftition, cekflial atlaiTes,
aftronomical tables, and various inftruments, were executed and improved with
much art by the arabs; in which they were greatly aflifted by the fine climate,
and clear fky of their extcnfive dominions. Aftronomy was applied alfo to the
fcrvice of geography : they made maps, and compofed ftatiftical fketches of
many countries, long before fuch things were thought of by europeans. By it
likewifc they fixed the dates of chronology : they employed their knowledge
* Moft of thefe, however, remain unexplored pointed for this purpofe. Our Reiike has fallen
or neglected by us. There are lettered ger- a martyr to his arabic-grecian zeal : peace be
mans, who poiTefs both knowledge and induf- to his aflies I but long will be the time, ere we
try, but want fupport, to publifli them as they Ihall fee again fuch learning, as was negleAed
ought to be : iu other countries, the learned in him.
fleep over wealthy inftitations and legacies ap«
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596 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIX.
of the courfcs of the ftars in navigation, many technical terms of which are of
arabic derivation : and in general the name of this people Is infcribed among
the ftars with more permanent chara&ers, than it could have imprinted any
where upon the Earth. The books produced by the induftry of it's mathe-
maticians, aftronomers particularly, are innumerable : moft of them now lie
imknown, or unufed; and multitudes have been deftroyed by war, by the
flames, by inattention, or by ignorance. Through it's means the nobleft fciences
of the human intelleA penetrated into Tatary, the mungal countries, and even
the fecluded China: in Samarcand aftronomical tables were conftrudked, and
epochs afcertained, to which we ftlU refer. The charaäers employed in our
arithmetic we received from the arabs : and algebra derives from them it's
names. So does chymiftry, of which they are the fathers ; a fcience that has
put into the hands of man a new key to the fecrets of Nature, not only for the
purpofcs of phyfic, but of every department of natural phllofophy. As from
attachment to this fcience they paid lefs attention to botany, and the purfuit
of anatomy was prohibited by their law j they were more fedulous in the ap-
plication of chymiftry to the materia mcdica, and in the difcrimination of
difeafes and temperaments by an almoft fuperftitious obfervation of their ex-
ternal figns and fymptoms. What Ariftotle was to them in phllofophy, what
Euclid and Ptolemy were in mathematics, fuch were Galen and Diofcorides in
the art of phyfic : though it cannot be denied, that, in following the greeks,
the arabs were not merely the keepers, propagaters, and amplifiers, of the
fciences moft indifpenfable to man, but occafionally the falfifiers of them. The
oriental tafte, in which they cultivated the fciences, long adhered to them in
Europe, and could not eafily be removed. In fome of the arts, too, much of what
we call the gothic ftyle is property the arabian: as in architefture, which thefe
rude conquerors formed after their own manner from the edifices they found
in the grecian provinces, and brought with them into Spain, whence it fpread
farther into Eurqpe.
4. Laftly, we fliould fpeak of the dazding and romantic fpirit of chivalry y
which they unqueftionably mingled with the european ardour for adventure ;
but this will foon appear of itfelf.
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[ 597 ]
CHAPTER VI.
General Reße^ions.
I F we caft a rctrofpedivc view on the form our quarter of the Globe has ac-
quired through the migrations and converfion of nations, through wars and the
hierarchy, we (hall difccm a powerful but hclplefs body, a giant wanting no-
thing but eyes. This weftcm end of the ancient World was fufficiently popu-
lous: the territories of the romans, enfeebled by luxury, were abundantly
peopled by men of ftrong bodies and folid courage*. For in the early days of
their recent pofleflion of thefe countries, before the diftinftion of ranks had
acquired the oppref&ve hereditary form, the conquered dominions of the romans
were a real Paradife to the rude enjoyments of thefe uncultivated people, in
the midft of other nations, who had long planted and built for their own con-
venience. They regarded not the ravages their expeditions occafioned, which
kept back the human race more than ten centuries : for we feel not the loß
of unknown good ; and for the animal man this weftern part of the northern
World, with the flighted remnants of it's cultivation, was in every rcfpeft pre-
ferable to his ancient Sarmatia, Scythia, or remoter eaftcm Hunland. By the
devaftations, that took place after the chriftian era ; in the wars, that thefe
people carried on among themfelves j in the new pefts and difeafes, that ra-
vaged Europe ^ it mufl be confefied the human fpecies fuffered : but by no-
thing fo much, as by the defpotic feudal fyftem, Europe was full of men, but
of men in a flate of bodily fervitude : and the flavery, under which thefe
groaned^ was fo much the more fevere, as it was a chriftian flavery, reduced
into rule by political laws and blind cuftom, confirmed by writings, and at-
tached to the foil. The very air conferred property : he who was not emanci-
pated by contract, or a defpot by birth, entered into the pretended natural ftate
of fubjedion, or vafTalage.
From Rome no fuccour was to be expefted. It's fervants (hared with
others the fovereignty of Europe ; and Rome itfelf was fupported by a multi-
tude of fpiritual flavcs. Whomever kings and emperors made free, were to
be forced from giants and dragons, as in the books of romance, by letters
* The bodily ftrength of our forefatheri is able to the underftanding. The valiant and
attefted by their graves and armour, as well as noble mafs poiTeiTed but few ideas; and thefe
by hiftory : and without it the ancient and few were fet in motion flowly» yet forcibly,
middle hiilory of Europe is fcarcely reconcile-
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59» PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XII.
of cnfranchifemcnt : accordingly this way was tedious and difficult. The
knowledge the chriftianity of the weft poffeffed was expended, and turned
to profit. It's popular form was become a wretched verbal liturgy : it's vile
patrician rhetoric had been converted, in monafteries, churches, and commu-
nities, into a magic defpotifm over the mind, which the vulgar adored under
whips and fcourges, nay licking the duft in penitence. The arts and fcienccf
were no more : for what muß will dwell amid the bones of martyrs, the din
of bells and organs, the fmoke of incenfe, and prayers for deliverance finom Pur-
gatory ? The hierarchy had launched it's thunderbolts againft all freedom of
thought, and crippled with it's yoke every noble Ipring of aftion. Reward
in another World was preached up to the fuffering : the oppreflbr was fecuit
of abfolution in the hour of death, for a legacy : God's kingdom upon Earth
was let to farm.
In Europe there was no falvation without the pale of the romifh church.
For, not to mention the opprcflcd nations miferably pent up in the cornen of
the Earth, nothing was to be expefted from the grecian empire s ftill Ids from
the only kingdom, which had begun to form itfelf in the eaft of Europe, «ut
of the jurifdiÄion of the roman emperor and pope *. Thus nothing remained
for the weftern part, but itfelf j or the only fouthern nation, in which a new
flioot of mental cultivation bloomed, the mohammedans. With thefc Europe
foon came into conflift, in it's moft fenfible parts ; and this conflidb was of long
duration : in Spain it continued till the time when knowledge was difiuled over
all Europe. What was the prize of the conteft? and who were the viöois?
Unqueftionably the newly excited aftivity of mankind was the moft valuable
prize of the viftor}'.
* This is Ruflia. From the time of it's foundation it took a peculiar courfe, dlffcrcAt fitun iHit
of the other kingdoms of Europe. With thefe it entered not the lifts till late.
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C 599 3
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
BOOK XX.
IF the croifades, earned on by Europe in the eaft, may juftly be confidered
as the epoch of a great revolution in our quarter of the Globe, yet we muft
take care not to efteem them it's firft and only caufe. They were nothing
more than a mad enterprife, which coft Europe fome millions of men ; and
reconveyed to it in the furvivors, for the moft part, a loofe, daring, debauched,
and ignorant rabble. The good which was efFefted in their time arofe
chiefly from collateral cauies, which obtained freer play at this period, and
produced advantages, in many refpeAs attended with confiderable danger.
Indeed, no occurrence in human affairs ftands alone : anfing from anteriouf
caufes, the fpirit of the times, and the difpofition of nations, it is to be conii-
dered only as the dial, the band of which is moved by internal fprings. Let
\}s proceed, therefore, to examine the movements of Europe in the whole, and
obferve how every wheel in them cooperated to one common end.
CHAPTER I.
Tie Spirit of Commerce in Europe.
This fmall portion of the Earth was not in vain furrounded by Nature with
fo many coafts and bays, and interfered by fo many navigable rivers and
lakes : the nations, that dwelt on them, were aftive from the remoteft times.
What the Mediterranean had been to the fouth of Europe, the Baltic was to
thjB north ; an early incentive to the purfuit of navigation, and a mean of in-
tercourfe between different countries. Befide the gael and cimbri, we have
feen the frifons, the faxons, and more efpecially the normans, traverfing all the
feas of the weft and the north, nay even the Mediterranean, and effecting much
good, and much evil. From the fimple excavated trunk of a tree they rofe
to (hips of burden, to a capacity of keeping the open fea, and availing
themfelves of every wind ; fo that even now the points of the compafs, and
many nautical terms, in all the languages of Europe, arc of german derivation.
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6oo PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XIX.
Amber in particular was the coftly bauble, that attraAed greeks, romans, and
arabians, and brought the north and the fouth acquainted with each other.
It was conveyed by (hips of Maffilia (Marfeilles) over the ocean ; by land,
through Carnuntum (Freiburg) to the Adriatic -, and on the Dnieper, to the
Black Sea ; in quantities fcarcely credible.
The way of the Black Sea was preeminently the path of intercourfe between
the nations of the North, South, and Eaft *. At the mouths of the Don and
the Dnieper were two great commercial towns, Azoph (Tanais, Afgard), and
Olbia (Boryfthenes, Alfheim) ; the repofitories of the wares of Tatar}^ India,
China, Byzantium, and Egypt, which were difperfed over the north of Europe,
chiefly by way of barter: and even when the readier way through the Mediter-
ranean was frequented, down to the times of the croilades and beyond them,
this north eaftern commerce was purfued. After the flavians became poflefled of
a great part of the baltic fhores, they eftablißied a range of flourifliing commercial
towns along them. The germanic nations on the illands and oppofite coafts
were their eager rivals ; and defifted not, till, for the fake-of gain and of chrif-
tianity, the commerce of the flavians was deftroyed. They then endeavoured
to occupy their place j and long before the proper hanfeatic league, a kind of
maritime republic, a league of mercafttile towns, was gradually eflablitticd, which
afterwards rofe to the grand hanfe. As in the days of plunder there had been
maritime kings in the north j fo now a much more extenfive commercial (late
was formed of various members, on the genuine principles of mutual aid and
fecurity ; a prototype, probably, of the future ftate of all the mercantile na-
tions of Europe. Induftry, and ufe(ul manufa<ftures, flourilhed on more than
one of the northern (hores j firft of all particularly in Flanders, which was
peopled with german colonifls.
The internal conftitution of this part of the World, however, was aflurcdly
not the beft adapted to the rifing induftry of it's inhabitants : for, on almoft
every coaft, the moft promißng eftablifhments were frequently ruined by pirates ;
and, by land, the love of war, that ftill raged among the nations, and the feudal
fyftem,which fprung from it, threw in it's way a thoufand obftacles. In the eaflieft
times, alter the barbarians had difperfed themfelvcs over Europe, when greater
equality prevailed among the members of the nation, and the ancient inhabitants
experienced gentler treatment, the general fpirit of induftry required nothing but
• Much on this fubjca is collcacd in the fiift volume of Fifcher's Ce/cbicbte des trut/cben Uandth,
Hiftory of german Commerce'
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Cii AP. I.] Tie Spirit of Commerce in Europe. 6oi
encouragement : and this would not have been wanting, had more Theodorics,
Charlemagnes, and Alfreds, appeared. But when every thing fell under
the yoke of bondage, and an hereditary order arrogated to itfelf the labour
and induflry of it's vaflals, for the fupport of it's luxury and fplendour; when
no man, poflcfTed of talents fur any art, cculd dare to purfue it, till he had re-
deemed himfelf out of the clutches of this demon by tribute, or by patent ; every
thing was unquellionably manacled with heavy chains. Intelligent fovereigns did
what they cculd : they founded cities, and endowed them with privileges: they
took artifls and mechanics under their protedion ; invited merchants, and even
hebrew ufurers, into their dominions, exempting the former from tribute, and
often conferring on the latter pernicious commercial liberties, becaufe they flood
in need of jewilh gold : but all thefe could not eftablifli a freer employment or
circulation of human induflry on the continent of Europe, under the circum-
ftances we have mentioned. Every thing was confined, mutilated, opprelfed ;
nothing therefore could be more natural, than that the addrefs of the fouth,
aided by convenience of ütuation, fliould for a time prevail over the afliduity
of the north. Yet it was only for a time : for all that Venice, Genoa, Pifa,
Amalfi, have done, is confined within the limits of the Mediterranean : the
ocean belongs to the navigators of the north; and, with the ocean, the
World.
Venice arofe amidft it's marflies like Rome. Firft the afylum of thofe, who
favcd themfehes from the incurfions of the barbarians on wretched, inacccfTiblc
iilands, and fupported themfelves as well as they could: afterwards joining
with the ancient haven of Padua, it united it's villages and iflands, acquired a
form of government, and rofe from a paltry trade in fifh and fait, with which it
began, to be in a few centuries the firft commercial city of Europe, the repofi-
tory of merchandize for all the furrounding countries, and the miflrefs of feve-
ral kingdoms 5 even in the prefent day it boafts the honour of being the
mofl ancient republic exifting, and a republic never conquered *. It's hiftory
confinns, what that of many commercial cities has proved, that men may rife
from nothing to every thing, and fave themfelves from the very jaws of deftruc-
tion, if they unite indefatigable induflry with prudence. It ventured not out
of it's marflies till late, when, like a timid inhabitant of the mud, it fought a
little diflrift on the ftiand. It then advanced a few fteps farther, and, to obtain
tlic favour of the wealthy grecian empire, afUfted it's feeble exarchs of Ravenna,
» Tills wts true when the original was publlAicd. T.
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6öz PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXX.
In return for this, it obtained what it dcfired ; the moft important privileges
in this empire, then in poflfeflion of the principal trade of the World.
When the arabs had extended their dominions ; and with the fovemeignty of
Syria, Egypt, and almoft all the (hores of the Mediterranean, had likewife
ufurped their commerce; the Venetians boldly and fuccefsfuUy withftood
their attacks on the Adriatic. As foon as a proper opportunity offered,
however, they entered into a treaty with them, and thus became the venders
of all the wealth of the eaft, to their immenfe profit. Thus fpices, filk, and
all the commodities of oriental luxury, were fo abundantly diffufed over Europe,
that almoft the whole of Lombardy was converted into a repofitory of them, and
the Venetians and lombards were, together with the jews, the general brokers of
the weftern world. The more ufefiil trade of the northern nations fuffered from
this for a certain period : and now the wealthy Venice, preCed upon by the
hungarians and avari, eftabliflied a firm footing on the main land. Embroiling
themfelves neither with the greek emperors, nor with the arabs, they drew advan-
tages from Conftantinople, Aleppo, and Alexandria ; and oppoled the commer-
cial eflablifliments of the normans with timorous jealoufy, till they had endofcd
thefe alfo in their grafp.
The commodities fubfervient to the calls of luxury, which they and their
rivals imported from the eaft j and the wealth they acquired thereby ; with
the reports the pilgrims gave of the magnificence of the oriental nations;
inflamed the minds of the europeans with greater defire for the poffefCons of
the mohammedans, than did the fepulchre of Chrifl : and when the croifadcs
broke out, there were none who derived from them fo much advantage, as thfcfe
commercial cities of Italy. They tranfported over feveral armies, carried them
provifiOHy and hence acquired not only immenfe fums of money, but new privi-
leges, factories, and poffefllions, in the newly conquered lands. Venice was
particularly fortunate above all the refl : for as it fucceeded in taking Conftan-
tinople with an army of croifaders, and eftablifliing in it a latin empire, it (hared
the plunder with it's allies fo advantageoufly, that they had but little, and
that little infecure, and but for a (hort period, while it obtained every thipg
conducive to it's trade, the coafts and iflands of Greece. Thefe polTelfions it
retained for a long time,, and confiderably augmented : and all the dangers that
threatened them, from rivals or enemies, it contrived to furmount by fuccefs,or
ward off by circumfpedion ; till a new order of things, the voyages of the por-
tuguefe round the Cape of Good Hope, and the irruption of the turks into
Europe, reftridted it to it's own Adriatic. A great part of the booty of the
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Chap. I.] Tie Spirit of Commerce in Europe. 603
grecian empire, the croifadcs, and the commerce of the eaft, concentred in
it's marfties : it's fruits, both good and bad, were difleminated over Italy,
France, and Germany, particularly it's fouthern part. They were the hollanders
of their time ; and, bcfide their commercial induftry, befide various arts and
manufaftures, they have eminently dißinguiflied themfelves in the book of
human nature by the durability of their form of government *.
Genoa acquired a great trade earlier than Venice, and poffefled for a long
time the fovereignty of the Mediterranean. It {hared the grecian commerce,
and afterward the arabian : and as it was of importance to it, to preferve the
fecurity of the Mediterranean, it not only made itfelf mafter of Corfica, but
alfo, with the afTiftance of fome chriftian princes of Spain, of feveral places in
Africa, and diftated peace to the pirates. "During the croifades it was very
aftive : the genoefe fupported the armies with their fleets ; and aflifted, in the
firft expedition, at the conquefts of Antioch, Tripoli, Csfarea, and Jcrulalem ;
fo that, befide an honorary infcription over the altar in the chapel of the holy
fepulchre, they were rewarded with diftinguilhed privileges in Syria and Palef-
tine. In the trade of Egypt they rivalled the Venetians : but in the Black Sea
they bore fupereminent fway, where they poflefled the great commercial city
of Kaffa, the repofitory of all the commodities, that took their courfe from the
caft over land j and they enjoyed magazines and liberty of trade in Armenia,
nay far within Tatary. They long defended KafTa, and the iflands they held in
the ^gean Sea, till the turks had conquered Conftantinople, and excluded them
firft from the Black Sea, afterwards from the Archipelago. With Venice they
carried on long and bloody wars, and more than once brought this republic to
the brink of deftrudlion : Pifa, indeed, they rafed to the ground ; but at g«
length the Venetians fucceeded in checking the power of the genoefe at
Chiozza, and completing the fall of their greatnefs. 1381.
Amalfi^ Pifa^ and fome other cities of Italy, had part with Genoa and Venice
in the arabian trade of the eaft. Florence rendered itfelf independent, 1010*
and joined to it Fiefole : Amalfi obtained the privilege of a free trade 1020,
throughout the ftates of the egyptian khalifs : Amalfi, Pifa, and Genoa, how-
^liiJat "^ttV % Gefcbichtt'von Venedig, 'IViSioty language can exhibit. What thi» maritim«
of Venice f ,* we have fuch an abftraft of every city has done in the hillory of lEaropc for tfte
thing moft memorable, that has been written church, letters, and in other points, will hereafter
xefpefling the hillory of this city, as no other appear.
f I dobbt whether this be « dlftinfl work, as I know no Italyitfid all thetncient and modern States founded therein/
one under thi« title-. Probably Herder refers to the account a work ia aine volumes SvO| 17S7.
*ii Venice in Ls Bretts Gtfcbithfe V9» Jtaliea, ' Hiftory of
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6o4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
ever, were the principal maritime powers in the Mediterranean. The coafts of
France and Spain, likewife, fought to participate in the trade of the Levant ;
and the pilgrims of both countries repaired thither as much for the (kke of gain»
as of devotion. Such was the fituation of the fouth of Europe, with reipeä to
the pofleffions of the arabs; which to the Qiores of Italy, in particular, expanded
like a garden of fpices, as a Fairyland of wealth. 'The Italians, that accom-
panied the croifades, fought not the body of the Lord, but the fpices and trea>
fures in his grave. The bank of Tyre was their Holy Land i and what they any
where undertook was m their ufual way of trade, which tbey had trodden for
centuries.
Tranfient as was- the profperlty thefe foreign riches brought to thofc, by whom
they were acquired, dill in all probability they were indifpenfable to the firft
blooming of italian cultivation. By them men were taught a lefs rude and
more commodious manner of living ; and, iuftead of their coarfe oftentatioo, to
diftinguilh themfelves by more refined magnificence» The many great cities
of Italy, which were held only by feeble ties to their weak and abfent (bvereigns
on the other fide of the Alps, while they all panted after independence, acquired
more than one fuperiority over the uncivilized marauder of the caftle : for they
cither drew him within their walls, by the attradions of luxury, and the m*
creafed enjoyments of focial life, and converted him into a peaceable citizen;
or by their increafeofpopuhitionthey acquired fufBcient (Irength, to deftroy his
ibrtrefs, and compel him to live as a quiet neighbour. Rifing luxury awakened
induftrioufnefs, not only to the purfuit of arts aixl manufadures, but even of
agriculture: the fields of Lombardy, Florence, Bologna, and Ferrara, with the
coafts of Naples and Sicily, flourifhed under the hand of the huibandman, in
the neighbourhood of great and induftrLous cities. Lombardy was a garden,
when great part of Europe was covered with woods and downs. For as thefe
populous cities muft derive their fupport from the land ; and the proprietor of
the foil could gain more by the provifion, with which he fumiflied them, in
confequence of the increafed price given for the neceflaries of life -, he could not
avoid exerting himfclf in purfuit of this gain, if he were defirous of participating
in the luxury recently introduced. Thus one fpecies of aftivity routed another,
and kept it in pHiy : and, with this new courfe of things, order, the fttc enjoy-
ment of private property, and fubmifiion to the laws, neceflarily prevailed.
Men were obliged to learn frugality, that they might have money to fpeod :
human invention was (harpened, while one endeavoured to carry <hc prize
&om another : e^'ery boufeholder, formerly an unconneded individual, now
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Chap. I.] the Spirit of Commerce in Europe. 605
became in fome degree himfelf a merchant. Thus it arofe from the nature of
things, that fertile Italy, watered by the wealth of the arabs, fliould firft put
forth the bloffoms of a new cultivation.
Thefe bloflbms, however, were far from perennial. Trade difTufed itfelf,
and took a different courfe : the republics decayed : voluptuous cities became
infolent, and at variance within themfelves : the whole country was filled with
parties, among which entcrprizing men, and a few powerful families, raifed
themfelves to great authority. War and oppreffion fucceeded : and as luxury
and the arts had baniQied not only the military fpirit, but alfo faith and probity,
one city, one (late, after another, fell a prey to foreign or domcftic tyrants. The
ftriftcft laws of moderation alone were capable of preferving from ruin the
diftributor of this pleafing poifon, Venice itfelf. Yet let no fpring rf human
adtion be denied it*s rightful claims. Happily for Europe, this luxury was at
that time far from general, and the greater part of it promoted the gains of
the lombards alone : a fpring ftill more powerful adcd in oppofition to it, the
fyirit of chivalry, defpifing felfintereft, and daring every thing for the fake of
glory. Let us examine from what feeds this flower arofe ; whence it derived
it's nutriment -, and what virtues it pofleiTed, to check the fpirit of commerce«.
CHAPTER 11.,
Spirit of Chivalry in Europe.
All the germanic tribes, that fpread themfelves over Europe, confiftcd of
warrioucs : and as the moft arduous part of military fervice fell upon the ca«
valry, it was natural, that thefe fliould amply rccompenfe themfelves for their
fkill in equeftrian accomplifliments. Accordingly, a fraternity of horfcmen foon
arofe, who learned their art in due form : and as thefe were the attendants of
the commander, duke, or king, a fort of military fchool was cftabliflied where
the court refided, in which the bachelor knights ferved their apprenticcfliip.
When this was accompliihed, it is probable, that they were fent in queft of ad-
ventures, as the means of rendering them pcrfeft in their trade ; and, havingwdl
approved themfelves on this trial, continued to fcrve as matters of their craft,
to the privileges of which they were admitted, or as teachers to inftruft others
in thofe arts, which, themfelves had learned. It is fcarcely poffible, that the
order of chivalry fliould have had any other origin. The germanic nations,
who carried the corporation fpirit into every thing, muft have applied it parti-
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6o6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boot XX.
cularly to an art familiar to thcnifelvcs alone : and as this was their grand VLmX
i")'c art, they naturally coiifcrrcd upon it all the honour, which they were tc-o
ignorant to bcftow on any other. All the laws and regulations of chivalry miy
I.? deduced from this origin *.
This company of horfcmcn being trained for the fervice of the prince, li-.f
fiifi: duty incumbent both on the bachelor and the knight was, to fwcar realty
to him. Horfcmandiip and the ufc of weapons were the exercifes of their
fchool ; whence tilts and tournaments, with other knightly fports as they were
called, afterwards arofe. At court the young cavalier was to be about the pcr-
fon of the prince and his confort, to be ready for courtly fcrvices : hence the
duty of courtefy toward princes and ladies, which he learned as a trade. And as,
bcfide his horfe and his arms, a little religion and favour with the ladies were
neceffary for him, he acquired the former from a (hort breviary, and obtained
the latter as he could, according to his abilities and the fafliion of the times.
Thus originated chivalry, confifting of a blind faith in religion, a blind fubmif-
fion to the will of the prince, provided he required nothing inconfiftent with
the principles of the confraternity, courteoufnefs in fervice, and gallantry toward
the ladies : if a knight poffcffed thefe virtues, no matter whether his head con-
tained a fingle idea, his heart a (ingle fentiment, befides. The lower clafles
were not his equals : the knowledge of the mechanic, the artift, or the man of
learning, he, as a foldier and accompliflied knight, could defpife.
It is obvious, that this military trade muft degenerate into unbridled har-
barifm, as foon as it became an hereditary right, and the genuine, thorough
knight was a noble in his very cradle. Sagacious princes, who fupported fuch
an idle train about their courts, paid confidcrable attention to the improvement
of this calling, by inftilling into the minds of the noble matters fome few ideas,
and giving them Jiioflals, for the fecurity of their own court, family, and country.
Hence the fevcre laws by which every ad of bafenefs was fubjefted to penalties
among them : hence the noble duties of fuccouring the oppreffed, protcöing
virgin innocence, treating enemies with magnanimity, and the like ; the defign of
which was to obviate their burfts of violence, to temper the rudenefs and barbarity
of their manners. Thefe laws of the order were not to be obliterated from the
virtuous mind, on wliich they had been impreffed from the earlicft in&ncyj
• See Moefer*» 0/nabruecki/chi Gtfcbiebti, by D. Klueber. The chief part of the original
«Hiftory of Ofnabruck/ Vol. I. For what relates to the frcnch knights alone» the general
follows, inftead of the numberi who have hiftoryof chivalry in Europe has never yet been
written on chivalry, I (hall cite only Came de written to my knowledge.
St. Palaye, whofc work is tranilated into geiman
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Ch A p. II.] Spirit of Chivalry in Emape. 607
fo that the probity and faith almoft mechanically difplayed in word and deed
by every worthy knight aftonifli us. PKability of charader, facility of placing
a qucftion in every pomt of view, and fertility of ideas, were not their failings :
hence the language of the middle ages was fo ceremonious, ftiff, and formal, that
it feems to move as it were caparifoned in fteel» round two or three thoughts,
in all the pomp of knighthood.
Caufes from two extremities of the Earth concurred, to give this ^ ody c(
chivalry more life and motion : Spain, France, England, and Italy, but
principally France, were the places where it received it's chief refinements.
I. The national charader and country of the arais rendered a kind of
knight-errantry, mixed with the tendernefs of love, fomewhat like hereditary
property to them, from the earlieft times. They went in queft of adventurer j
fought fingle combats ; and waflied out the ftain of every difgrace, thrown
on themfelves, or their tribe, with the blood of their enemy. Accuftomed
to hard fare and flight clothing, their horfe, their fword, and the honour of
their race, were dear to them above all things. And as while roaming
with their tents they fought love-adventures, and then breathed out com-
plaints of the abfence of the obje<ft of their paffion in their much valued
poetical language -, their fongs very foon fell into the regular train of chaunting
their prophet, themfelves, the honours of their race, and the praifes of their
miftrcfs i without much attention to the aptnefs of tranfition. On their expedi-
tions of conqueft the tents of the women were intermingled with theirs: the
moft courageous animated them in battle, and in return the fpoils of the vic-
tory were laid at their feet. And as from the time of Mohammed the influence
of the women in the formation of the arabian empire had been great ; and the
orientals had no enjoyments in a period of peace, except games of paftime, or
amufing themfelves among the women j the feftivities of chivalry, as throwing
the javelin at the ring, and other contefts, within lifts, in the prefence of the
ladies, were celebrated with great fplendour and magnificence in Spain, durmg
the government of the arabs. The fiiir dames encouraged the champions, and
rewarded them with jewels, fcarves, or garments worked with their own hands :
for thefe feftivals were held in honour of them, and the portrait of the con-
queror's miftrefs was hung up to view, furrounded by the portraits of the
knights he had overcome. The competitors were divided into bands,, diftin-
guiflied by their colours, devices, and garments; poems were fung in honour
of the feaft J and the thanks of love were the vidlor's nobleft reward. Thus the
more refined cuftoms of chivalry were evidently brought into Europe by the
arabs; what with the heavy-armed heroes of the north remained only profef-
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6o8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
fional manners, or mere fiöion, were with thefc nature, light play, fportivc
cxcrcife *.
Thus this gayer fpirit of chivalry was firft introduced among the chriftians
in Spain, where the arabs and goths lived together for centuries. Here we not
only difcover the moll ancient chriftian orders, cftabliflied either for the purpofe
of oppofing the moors, for protedling pilgrims on their journeys to Compollella,
or for pleafure and amufement ; but the fpirit of chivalry was fo deeply im-
printed in the charadler of the Spaniards, that even knights errant, and che-
valiers of love, perfedlly in the arabian ftyle, were not with them mere creatures
of the imagination. The romaunt, or hiftorical poem, particularly as dedicated
to the adventurers of love and chivalry j and probably the romance, as the old
Amadis, and others; were the offspring of their language and way of thinking,
in which Cervantes found in latter days the materials for that incomparable
national romance, Don Quixote de la Mancha.
But their influence was more eminently difplayed in the lighter poeUy^ both
here and in Sicily, the two countries of which the arabs longeft maintained
pofleflion -f . For in the land, extending to the Ebro, which Charlemagne con-
quered from the arabs, and peopled with limofins, or the inhabitants of the (buth
of France, the firft poetry among the vernacular' languages of Europe, the
p'ovoifaiy or Hmofifiy gradually formed itfelf, on either fide the Pyrenees, in the
neighbourhood of the arabs. Tenzonets, fonnets, idyls, villanefcas, firvcntes,
madrigals, canzonets, and other forms, invented for witty queftions, dialogues,
and envelopes of amorous fubjefts, gave occafion, äs every thing in Europe
muft aflume the court or corporation form, to a fingular tribunal, the court of
love (corte de amor)y in which ladies and knights, princes and kings, were con-
cerned as judges and parties. Before it was formed the gaya ciencia^ the fcience
of the troubadours ; firft the purfuit of the higher nobility, but afterwards,
being confidered after the european mode as an amufement of*the court, it fell
into the hands of the contadores^ truaneSy and bufonesy the ftory-tcllers, jcfteis,
and court-buffoons, where it became contemptible.
In it's early flourifhing days the poetry of the provencals had a foftly harmo-
nious, pathetic, and engaging ftyle, which polifhed the heart and mind, refined
the language and manners, and was the general parent of all modern european
poetry. The limofin language extended itfelf over Languedoc, Provence, Bar-
celona, Arragon, Valencia, Murcia, Majorca, and Minorca; in thefe charming
• See Reiike on Thograi, Pocock on Abol&rtgias, Sale» Jones, Ockley. Cardonae^ kc
t See Velafqaez on fpanilh poetry, and all who have written on the proren^ak;, odanefingen, &c.
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Chap. IL] Spirit of Chiviilry m Europe'. 600
countries, fonned by the fea-breeze, love brcr.llicd it's firft figb, love poured the
firft language of delight. The poetry of Spain, France, and Italy, were it's
daughters : by it Petrarch was tutored, of it he was emulous: our niinnefin-
gcrs were it's remote and harfli echoes, thovgh the fofteft of our language is
uTiqueftionably theirs. The univerfally diffufcd fpirit of chivahy tranlpiantcd
fome of it's flowers from France and Italy into Swabia, Auftria, and Thuringia :
fome emperors of the Staufiöi family, and Hermann landgrave of Thuringia,
delighted in it, with more german princes, vvhofe names would have funk into
oblivion, had they not been tranfmitted to pofterity with fome of their fongs.
The art, however, fpecdily degenerated, finking into the defpicablc trade of
vngr^nt jong/mrs in France, of meißirßngas in Germany. ^ In languages fprung
like the provencal itfelf from the latin, and known by the name of romanfti,
it could take deeper rootj producing far more plcafing fruits as it fpread from
Spain through France and Italy to the ifland of Sicily. In Sicily, as in Spain,
arole the firft Italian poetry on what was once arabian ground.
2. What the arabs began from the fouth, the normans cultivated ftill more
ftrenuoufly froiti the nortlt, in France, England, and Italy. When their ro-
mantic charafter, their love of adventures, heroic tales, and martial cxercifes,
and their native refpedt to the women, united with the refined chivalry of the
arabs, it gained a wider fpread, and deeper root in Europe. The tales called
romances, the ground -wcM'k of which cxifted long before the croifades, now came
more into vogue : for all the german nations had ever celebrated the praifes of
their heroes ; and thefe fongs and poems had maintained their ground, even amid
the darkeft ages, in the courts of the great, nay in the convents themfelves ; and
in proportion as genuine hiftory declined, men's minds were the more turned to
fpiritual legends, or romantic ftories. Accordingly, from the firft ages of chrif-
tianity we find this exercife of the human imagination more employed than
any other, firft after the african greek manner, latterly after the northern euro-
pean : monks, bifliops, and faints, were not afhamed of it j nay, from their
mouths, true hiftory, and the Bible itfelf, fpoke the language of romance.
Hence arofe the fuit of Belial againft Chrift : hence the allegorical and myftical
perfonification of all the virtues and duties: hence the fpiritual dramatic mo-
ralities and interludes.
Such being the general tafte of the times, the offspring of ignorance, fuper-
ftitlon, and an awakened fancy, talcs and fables f conies et fabliaux) were the
only food of the human mind, and heroic tales were moft admired by the equef-
trian order. In France, the centre of this cultivation, the fubjefts moft pe»
culiar to it were naturally chofcn, according to the two ftrcams that united
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6ro PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BooKXr,
licre. The expedition of Charlemagne againft the faracens, with all the ad-
ventures faid to have happened in the Pyrenees, was one of thefe : what al-
ready exifted in the country of the normans, in Britanny, in the ancient ftories
of king Arthur, was the other. Into this were introduced, from the more recent
french conftitution, the twelve peers, with all the fplendour of Charles and his
knights, and all the favage deeds they had to tell of the faracen heroes. Ogicr
the dane, Huon of Bordeaux, the children of Aimon, and various ftories of the
pilgrims and croifaders, entered likewife into this : but the moft intercfting per-
fons and events were always borrowed from the country of the provencals,
Guienne, Languedoc, Provence, and that part of Spain, where the limofin poe-
try flouriflied. The fecond ftream, the tales of Arthur and his court, came
over the fea from Cornwall, or rather from an Utopian land, where men in-
dulged in a peculiar fpccies of the wonderful. The mirrour of knighthood
was brightly poliftied in thefe romances: the vices and virtues of this court
were clearly exhibited in the various charaftcrs of the knights of the round
table ; for which there was ample room in the unbounded domains of the ro«
mance of Arthur, and in fuch ancient times.
At length from thefe two branches of romance iffued a third, which excluded
no french or fpanifli province. Poitou, Champagne, Normandy, the foreft of
Ardennes, Flanders, nay Mentz, Caftile, and Algarva, furniflied knights and
fcenes to the drama : for the ignorance of the times, and the form in which the
hiftories of antiquity then appeared^ permitted, or rather urged this jumble of
all ages and countries. Troy and Greece, Jerufalem and Trebifond, what was
known of old, and what report juft bruited about, united in the garland of chi-
valry : and above all the claim to a defcent from trojan blood was a family
honour, of which all the nations and empires of Europe, with it's greateft kcights
and potentates, were firmly perfuaded. With the normans romance paffcd into
England and Sicily : each country afforded it new heroes, and new materials ;
but no where did it flouriih as in France. From the coalefcence of various
caufes, this tafte formed the way of life, language, poetry> and even religion
and morals of men *.
Then, if we pafsfirom the regions of fable into the land of hiftory, is there a
kingdom in Europe, where chivalry has blofibmed with more elegance than in
France ? When, after the decline of the Carlovingian race, almoft as many
courts of little potentates, dukes, counts, or barons, (hone forth in power and
• Of thefe direAions and ingredients of the romance of the middle ages I ihall fpeak elfe.
where.
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Ch a p . Tl.] Spirit of CliiViiiry in Eitrope. 6 1 x
fplendour, as there were provinces, cafllcs, and fortrcfles; every palace, every
kniglit's feat, was alio a fchool of chivalrj' and honour. The national vivacity
of the people ; the contefts thc}^ had maintained for centuries againft the arab.s
and normans; the fame their forefathers had thereby acquired 5 the flourifli-
ing ftate, to which many families had raifed themfclves; their intermixture
with the normans themfelves; but, efpecially, that peculiarity in the charafter
of the nation, which difplays itfelf throughout their whole hiftory from the days
ofthegauls; introduced into chivalry that felicity of expreffion, that prompt
elatticity, cafy complaifance, and fparkling grace, which, in any other nation
except the french, is to be found but late, or feldom, if ever. How many
french kmghts may be named, whofe fentiments and aftions, in peace and war,
throughout the whole hiftory of France, even down to the times of roj'al defpo-
tifm, difplay fo much valour, noblenefs, and gallantry, tliat their families will
bj-eternally honoured ! When Fame founded the trump of the croifades, the
knights of France were the flower of european chivalry: french families wore
the diadem of Jerufalem and Conftantinople ; and the laws of the new ftate
were promulgated in french. The language and manners of France feated them-
felves on the britifti throne, likewife, with William the conqueror : and the two
nations emuloufly rivalled each other in the virtues of chivalry, as the plains
both of France and Paleftine witnefTed, till England relinquiflied to it's neigh-
bour the prize of empty fplendour, and chofe the more ufeful career of civil
virtues. France firft braved the power of the pope; and indeed in the cafieft
way, with a degree of grace: even St. Lewis himfelf was far from a flave of the
holy father,. England, Germany, and other countries, have had more valiant
kings than France : but policy firft entered France from Italy, and there af-
fiimed at leaft the garb of decorum, however difgraceful her aftions. This
fpirit imparted itfelf likewife to inftitutions of learning, magifterial dignities,
and tribunals of juftice, at firft to their advantage, afterwards to their detri-
ment.
No wonder, then, that the french nation is become the vaincft in Europe:
almoft from the origin of it's monarchy it has held the lamp to this quarter of
the Globe, and given it the tone in it's moft important revolutions. When all
nations flocked together to Paleftine, as to a grand caroufal, the german knights
were led by their connexion with the french, to lay afide their teutonic turbu-
lence (furor teittontais). The new drefs, likewife, which coats of arms and
other marks of diftindion/pread over all Europe in the time of the croifades,
was for the moft part of french origin.
We fliould now fpeak of the three or four orders of fpiritual kniglits, which,
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6it PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXX.
founded in Pakftine, attained fo much wealth, and fo many honours ; but the
heroic and poh'tical drama, in which they acquired thefe, lies before us, witk
it's five, or rather fcven afts j to it therefore we will proceed.
CHAPTER in.
Tie Croifades and their ConfequeMcei.
986. Pilgrims and popes had long complained of the diftreffes of chriftians
1000. at Jerufalem. The end of the World was announced to be at hand j
^074. and Gregory VII believed he had 50000 men ready to follow him to
the holy fepukhre, if he would place himfelf at their head. At length a na-
tive of Picardy, Peter the hermit, in concert with Simeon, the patriarch
^^' of Jerufalem, fucceeded in perfuading pope Urban II to fet his hand to
^■^* the work. Two councils were called j and in the latter of them the pope
made a fpeech, at the conclusion of which the people in a frenzy exclaimed : * it
is the will of God ! it is the will of God !*
Accordingly multitudes were marked with a red crofs on the right (houldcr;
the croifade was preached throughout all papal chriftendom \ and various pri-
vileges were conferred on the holy warriours. They were allowed to alienate
or mortgage lands without the aflent of their lords ; a permiüion, which was
alfo conferred on ecclefiaftics, with refpedk to their benefices, for a term of
three years : all the croifaders were taken under the proteftioa and jurifdidiofi
of the churchy with regard both to perfon and property, and admitted to tlie
rights of the clergy : during the continuance of the holy war they were exempt
from all taxes and contributions, from being fued at law for any debts they
had contrafted, and from paying any intereft for what they owed: and they
obtained a complete abfolution for all their fins. An incredible number of
devout, diflblute, giddy, reftlefs, favage, fanatics and dupes, of all ranks and
degrees, and even of both fexes, flocked together. The forces were
^^5^' muftereJ ; and Peter the hermit fet out, barefoot, and clad in a long
cowl, at the head of an army of 300000 men. Spurning at all order, they
plundered wherever they came. The hungarians and bulgarians united 5
hunted them into the woods ; and he arrived at Conftantinople with a mifer-
able remnant, of about 30000, in a wretched condition. Gottfchalk, a pricft,
followed with 15000; and a count of the name of Emich, with 200000
more.
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Chap. III.] Tie Croifades and their Confequences, 6i J
Thefe men began their holy war with a maflacre of the jews, of whom they
murdered twelve thoufand in a few towns on the banks of the Rhine : and in
Hungary they themfelves were either maflacred or drowned. The firft un-
difciplined horde of hermits, ftrengthened by the addition of fome Italians,
were tranfported into Afia, experienced the diftreffes of famine, and would
have been totally extirpated by theturks, had not Godfrey of Bouillon at length
arrived before Conftantinople with bis regular forces, and the flower of
european chivalry. The army was muftercd in the plains of Chalce- '°97'
don, and found to confift of 500000 foot, and 130000 horfe. Nicsea, Tarfus,
Alexandria, Edefla, Antioch, and at length Jerufalem, were taken amid incre-
dible dangers and difficulties ; and Godfrey of Bouillon was unanimoufly chofen
king. His brother Baldwin was made count of Edefla; and the prince of
Tarentum, Boemund, duke of Antioch : Raymond, count of Tholoufe, be-
came count of Tripoli; and all the heroes celebrated in TaflTo's immortal
poem diftinguiflied themfelves in this campaign. Misfortune, however, fuc-
ceeded misfortune : the little kingdom had to defend itfelf againfl: innumerable
fwarms of turks from the eaft, and of arabs from Egypt ; and defended itfelf
at firft with incredible courage and fortitude. But the ancient heroes died :
the kingdom of Jerufalem came under a regency : diflTenfions arofe among the
princes and knights : a new power fprung up in Egypt, that of the mamalukes,
with which the noble and valiant Saladin ftraitened the perfidious, depraved
chriftians, and at length took Jerufalem ; thus putting an end to this little
ftiadow of a kingdom, before it had been enabled to celebrate it's cen- „
.,-,., 1107.
tennial jubilee.
AU the fubfequent croifades, to maintain or reconquer this kingdom, were in
vain: and the little principalities preceded or foon followed it in their downfal :
Edefla remained in the hands of the chriftians no more than fifty years :
and the immenfe croifade, the fecond in order, undertaken by the em- ^ ^^^'
peror Conrad III, and Lewis VII king of France, at the war-whoop of ' ^^7*
St. Bernard, with tooooo men, was unable to reftore it.
In the third croifade, three valiant potentates, the emperor Frederic ly Philip
Auguftus king of France, and Richard the lionhearted of England,
took the field againft Saladin, The firft was drowned in a river, and his ^ ^ ^'
fon died: the other two, being jealous rivals, and the french king in particular
envious of the britifli, could accomplifh nothing mere than the reconqueft
of Acre. Unmindful of his word, Philip Auguftus returned ; and Richard,
unable alone to contend againft the power of Saladin, was obliged relu<flantly
to follow him. Nay he had the misfortune, as he travelled through Germany
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6i4 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book "XX.
in a pilgrim's guile, to be Hopped by Leopold duke of Auftria, in revenge for
a pretended infult at the fiege of Acre, and bafely delivered into the hands of
the emperor Henry VI ; who ftill more bafely detained him four yeare in drift
confinement, till, all tlic world murmuring at this unknightly aftion» ho
^^^^' fufFcred him to ranfom himfelf for loooco marks of filver.
The fourth croifade, undertaken by the frcnch, dutch, and Venetians, under
the count of Mountferrat, never reached Paleftine j being led by the fclf-
I202. . .
ifli, revengeful Venetians. They took Zara, and failed for Conftantinople :
the imperial city was twice taken and plundered : the emperor fled :
Baldwin, count of Flanders, erefted a latin empire in Byzantium : the emphre
and the fpoil werc divided, and the Venetians acquired the richeft part of the
booty, on the Adriatic, the Euxine, and the Grecian fea. The com-
^' mander in chiefof the expedition became king of Candia, which iflar.d alfo
he fold to his covetous allies : and inftcad of the countries beyond the Bofpho-
rus he received the crown of Thcffalonica. A principality of Achaia, and a
duchy of Athens, were created for frcnch barons : wealthy Venetian nobles were
made dukes of Naxos and Negropont : there was a count palatine of Zant and
Cephalonia : the grecian empire was fold like oodinary plunder to the heft bid«
der. On the other hand, different branches of the grecian imperial race
1204. g^g^c^^ j^j^ empire atNicaea; a^duchy, which rfterwards aflumed the title
of empire, at Trebifond.j and a defpotifm» afterwards ftyled an empire likewife»
in Epirus. As fo little was left to the new latin emperors of Conftantinople, this
weak and hated throne with diiEculty ftood for fifty years: the emperors
^^ ' of Nicsea retook the ancient grecian imperial city 4 and at length, ail
thefe pofleflions, acquired by adventurers, fell into the hands of the turka.
The fifth croifade^ undertaken by the hiingarians and germans, was without
effeft. The kings of Hungary and Cyprus, a titular king of Jerufalem,
^^^7' and the grand mailers of the different orders, furrouaded Mount Tabor,
blocked up the enemy, and had the viftory in their hands : but jealoufy and
«difcord robbed them of their advantage; and the croifaders returned home»
foiled and dejefted.
Urged inceflantly by the papal coiart, the emperor Frederic II difpatchcd
a fleet to the Holy Land An advantageous truce was on the point of
being concluded ; but it wiis fruftrated by the pope's legate : and as the
emperor, compelled greatly ^ainft his inclinations« entered on the campaign, the
pope himCelf hindered all probability of it's fuccefs, by an abfurd ban»
and a treacherous attack upon the european dominions of the emperor.
' ^^' A truce was concluded with the fultaa of Bagdad ; Paleftine and Jem-
1228.
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Chap. III.] The Croifades and thinr Confequences. 6i j
falem were yielded to the emperor ; but the holy fepulchre remained in the
hands of the faracens, as a free port for pilgrims from all quarters.
This divided pofleffion of Jerufalem» however, continued fcarcely 1244.
fifteen years ; and St. Lewis was unable to regain it by his croiiade, the 1 248.
feventh in order, and of all the moft unfortunate. He himfelf, with i^S®*
his whole army, fell into the hands of the enemy in Egypt : he was obliged to
purchafe his ranfom at a dear price: and on a fecond expedition,
equally ufelefs and unfortunate, againft the moors, he ended his life be* ' '
fore Tunis. His melancholy example at length (lifled the fenfelefs propenfity to
religious wars in Paleftine; and the laft of the chriftian cities there, 1268.
Tyre, Acre, Antioch, and Tripoli, fell, one after another, into the hands 1288.
of the mamalukes. Thus ended this infatuation, which had coft european
chriftendom immenfe fums of money, and multitudes of men : and what were
it's confequences * ?
It has been cuftonoary, to afcribe fo many beneficial eifefts to the croifades,
that, conformably to this opinion, our quarter of the Globe muft require a
ßmilar fever, to agitate and excite it's forces, once in every five or fix centu-
ries j but a clofer infpeftion will fliow, that moft of thefe efiefts proceeded not
firom the croifades, at leaft not from them alone ; and that, among the various
inipulfes Europe then received, they were at moft accelerating (hocks, ading
upon the whole in collateral or oblique direäions, with which the minds of
europeans might well have difpenfed. Indeed it is a mere phantom of the
brain, to frame one prime fource of events out of feven diftind expeditions,
undertaken in a period of two centuries, by different nations, and from various
motives, folely becaufe they bore one common name.
I. TradeyVfc have feen, the europeans had already opened with the arabian
ftates, before the croifades : and they were at liberty to have profited by it,
and extended it, in a far more honourable way, than by predatory campaigns.
By thefe, indeed, carriers, bankers, and purveyors, w^re gainers : but all their
gain accrued from the chriftians, againft whofe property they were in faft the
croifaders. What was torn from the greek empire was a difgraceful trader's
booty, ferving, by extremely enfeebling this empire, to render Conftantinople
an eafier prey at a future period to the turkifh hordes, who were continually
preffihg more clofely upon it. The Venetian lion of St. Mark prepared the way, by
the fourth croifade, for the turks toenter Europe^ and fpread themfelves fo widely
• I hive never fccn the effays and prizo focietie«: therefore I deliva my own opinion,
papers, concerning the efFefls of the croifades, without reference to any of them«
Wfkien at the inftigation of different learned
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6i6 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Bootc XX,
ia it. The genoefe, it is true, aflifted one brancii of the greek emperors to
reafcend the throne : but it was the throne of a weakened, broken empire,
which fell an cafy prey to the turks ; tlien both the Venetians and genoefe loft
their beft poflefiions, and finally almoft all their trade, in the Mediterranean
and Euxine fcas.
2, Chivalry arofe not from the croifades, but the croifades from chivalr}'.
the flower of french and norman knighthood appeared in Paleftine in the firft
campaign. The croifades, indeed, contributed rather to rob chivalry of it's
pioper honours, and to convert real armed knights into mere armorial ones.
For in Paleftine many affumed the crefted helmet, which in Etirope they
dürft not have born : they brought home with them armorial devices and
nobility, which they tranfmitted to their families, and thus introduced a
new clafs, the nobility of the heralds office, and in time alfo nobility by let-
ters patent. As the number of the ancient dynafties, the true equeftrian
nobility, leffened, thefe new men fouglit to obtain poffeffions, and hereditary
prerogatives, like them : they carefully enumerated their anceftors, acquired
dignities and privileges, and in a few generations affumed the title of ancient
nobility ; though they had not the flighteft pretenfions, to rank with thofc dy-
nafties» which were princes to them. Every man, that bore arms in Paleftine,
might become a knight : the firft croifedes were years of general jubilee for
Europe. Thefe new nobles in right of military fervice were foon of great ufe
to growing monarchy, which cunningly knew bow to avail itfclf of them againft
fuch of the fuperiour vaflals as ftill remained. Thus paffion balances paffion,
and one appearance counterafts another: and at length the nobility of the
camp and the court totally obliterated the ancient chivalry,
3. It is felf evident, that the orders oi fpiritual knights^ founded in Paleftine,
were of no advantage to Europe. They ftill confume the capital, once dedi-
cated to the holy fepulchre,an objefl: wholly dead to us. The hofpitallers
^ °^* were to receive pilgrims on their arrival, nurfe the fick, and adminifter to the
leper : thefe are the lofty knights of St. John of our time. When a nobleman
of Dauphiny, Raymond du Puy, introduced among them the vow of
3^- carrying arms, the order of Lazarus feparated from them, and adhered to
the primitive inftitution. The templars were regular canons, lived ten
1119. years on alms themfelvcs, and protefted the pilgrims to the holy fepulchrc ;
till, their property increafing, their ftatutes were altered, and the knights
'** had their efquires; the order, it's lay brothers. Laftly, the teutonic order
was founded for the aflifliance of the fick and wounded left on the field : bread.
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Chap. III.] ^'fte Crcifades and their Confequences. 6 1 7
water, and clothing, were it's rewards ; till it alfo became rich and powerful,
from it's ufeful fervices againft the infidels.
All thcfe orders difplayed much valour, and much pride, in the Holy
Land; and likewife treachery and difloyalty: but with Paleftine their ^^^*
hiftory might well have terminated. When the knights of St. John of ^^*
Jerufalem were compelled to quit this country ; when they had loft Cyprus and
Rhodes, and Charles V had beftowed on them the rock of Malta; how fin-
gul^ was the commifiion, to remain to eternity croifaders out of Paleftine, ^ ^*
and on that fcore to enjoy poffeflions in kingdoms fafe from the attacks of -53
the turks, and which no pilgrim could traverfe in his way to the Holy Land !
Lewis VII received the order of Lazarus into France, and would have
reclaimed it to the original purpofe of it's inftitution, the care of the fick : ' ^-54'
more than one pope was defirous of fupprefling it : but it was proteäed by the
kings of France, and Lewis XIV united it with fome other trifling orders. In
this his fentiments differed from thofe of his anceftor, Philip the fair, whobarba-
roufly exterminated the templars from motives of avarice and revenge; and
appropriated to himfelf their eftates, to which he had no claim. Finally, '3 ^^*
the teutonic knights were called in by a duke of Maffovia to affift him againft
the heathen pruflians, and obtained from a german emperor the gift of all the
land they could conquer on the occafion, except what belonged to himfelf.
They fubdued Pruflia ; united with the brothers of the fword in Livonia; ^^^°*
obtained Efthonia from a king, who was unable to hold it : and thus at length
ruled in knightly luxury and licentioufnefs from the Viftula to the Dwina
and Neva. The ancient pruflian nation was exterminated ; lithuanians and fa-
nioiedcSjCOurlanders, lettonians, and efthonians, were divided as live ftock 1466.
among the german nobles. After long wars with the poles, they loft half 1525,
Pruffia, and then the whole; and at length Livonia and Courland alfo. 1560.
In thefe regions they left nothing behind them, but the repute, that it was
fcarcely poffible for a conquered country, to be ruled more proudly and oppref-
fively, than they ruled thefe coafts, which, had they been cultivated by fome
maritime fliates, would certainly have aflumed a very different appearance.
Upon the whole it may be faid, that the three orders abovementioned be-
longed not to Europe, but to Paleftine. There they were founded ; there
they appeared in their place. There they might fight the infidels, attend hof-
pitals, proted the holy fepulchre, adminifter to the leper, and conduft the
pilgrim. Their inftitutions (hould have been extinguiflied with thefe ob-
jedls: their eftates ßiould have been configned to chriftian works, they were the
efpecial property of the fick and the poor.
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6i8 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
4. As the new armorial nobility was indebted folely to the growth of mo-
narchy in Europe for it's eftablilhment : {b the freedom of cities^ the origin of
communities, and laflly the emancipation of the peafantry, in this quarter of
the Globe, are to be afcribed to caufes very different from the mad croiiades.
That in their firft febrile paroxyfm a refpite was granted to all prodigal houfe-
holders and debtors; that vaflals and bondfmen were difchargcd from their
duties, tributaries from their tribute, and thofe who were liable to impofts
from their taxes ; affuredly formed not the bafis, on which the right of liberty
in Europe refts. Cities had long been erefted ; the rights of more ancient cities
had long been confirmed and extended : and if the growing induftry and com-
merce of thefe cities fooner or later embraced the liberty of the pcafant alfo;
if the endeavours of fuch municipalities after independence were neceflarily in-
cluded in the progrefs of rifing monarchy ; furely we need not feek in Paleiline,
what the ever changing fcene of events in Europe alone could produce. The
durable (yftcm of Europe could fcarcely have proceeded from a religious
folly.
5. The aris andfcienceSy too, were nowife promoted by the proper croifadeis.
The diforderly troops, that ürft flocked to Palefrine, had not the lead notion
of them ; and were not likely to acquire them in the fuburbs of Conftantino-
ple, or from the turks and mamalukes in Afia. In the fucceeding campaigns
we need only reflefi: on the (hort time the armies pafled there; and the
wretched circumftances, under which this time was often fpent merely on the
confines of the country ; to diffipate the Iplendid dream of great difcoverics
imported thence. The pendulum clock, which the emperor Frederic II re-
ceived as a prefent from Meledin, introduced not gnomonics into Europe ;
the grecian palaces, which the croiGiders admired in Conftantinople, improved
not the ftyle of european architefture. Some croifaders, particulariy Frederic I
and II, laboured to promote the progrefs of knowledge : but Frederic I did
this ere he beheld Afia ; and the fliort vifit paid that country by Frederic II
fcrved only as a frclh ftimulus, to urge him forward in that courfe of govern-
ment, which he had long before chofen. Not one of the fpiritual orders of
knighthood introduced any new knowledge into Europe, or contributed to it*s
cultivation.
All that can be laid in favour of the croifades, therefore, is confined to a
few occafions, on which they cooperated with caufes already exifling, and in-
voluntarily promoted them.
I. As multitudes of wealthy vaflals and knights repaired to the Holy Land
in the firft campaigns, and many of them never returned, their cftates were of
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Chaf. IIL] Tie Crci/aJes and tiebr ConfequeHces. €19
courie fold, or fwallowed up in others. By this they profited who could»
the liege lord» the church» the cities already eftablifhed, each after his own
manner : this promoted and accelerated the courie of things, tending to con-
firm the regal power by the ereftion of a middle clafs, but was by no means
it's commencement.
2. Men became acquainted with countries, people, religions, and conftitu-
tjons, of which they were before ignorant 5 their narrow fphere of vifion was
enlarged; they acquired new ideas, new impulfes. Attention was drawn
to things, which would otherwife have been negleäed ; what had long
exifted in Europe was employed to better purpofe; and as the World was
found to be wider than had been fuppofed, curiofity was excited after a know-
ledge of it's remoteft parts. The mighty conquefts made by Genghis-Khan
in the north and eaft of Afia attrafted men's eyes chiefly toward Tatary ;
whither Marco Polo, the Venetian, Rubruquis, a frenchman, and John de
Piano Carpino, an Italian, travelled with very different views; the firft, for the
purpofe of trade; the fecond, to fatisfy royal curiofity; the third, fent by the
pope, to make converts of the people. Thcfe travels, of courfe, have no con-
nexion with the croifades, before and after which they were undertaken. The
Levant itfelf is lefs known to us from thefe expeditions, than might have been
cxpefted : the accounts the orientals give of it, even in the period when Syria
Iwarnied with chriftians, are ftill indifpenfable to us,
3. Finally, on this holy theatre europeans became better acquainted with
each other, though not in a manner much to be prized. With this more inti-
mate acquaintance kings and princes for the mod part brought home an im-
placable enmity : in particular the wan between England and France derived
from it firefli fuel. The unfortunate experiment, that achriftian republic could
and might contend in unifbn againft infidels, formed a precedent for finiilar
wars in Europe, which have fince extended to other quarters of the Globe.
At the iame time it cannot be denied, that, while the neighbouring powers of
Europe obtained a clofer infpeftion of their mutual weakneffes and ftrength,
fome obfcure hints were given for a more comprchenfive policy, and a new fyf-
tem of rclationfliip in peace and war. Every one was defirous of wealth, trade,
conveniences, and luxuries; as an uncultivated mind is prone, to admire thefe
in ftrangers, and envy them in the hands of another. Few, who returned from
the eaft, could be fatisfied with european manners: even their heroifni left
much behind, awkwardly imitated Afia in the weft, or longed for frefli travels
and adventxires. For the adual and permanent good produced by any event is
^ways {»'oportionate to it's confonancy with reaibn.
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620 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
Unfortunate would it have been for Europe» i(, at the time when it*s mili-
tary fwarms were contendbg for the holy iepulchre in a corner of Syria,
the arms of Genghis-Khan had been fooner and more powerfully turned toward
the weft. Then probably our quarter of the Globe would have been the prey
of the mungals, like Poland and Ruffia; and it's nations might have diflodged,
with the pilgrim's flaff in their hands» to tell their beads round the objeä of
their contention. Let us quit thefe wild fanatics, therefore, and take a retro-
^peSt of Europe; that we may fee how the courfe of events, reciprocally aftii^
on each other, gradually enlightened and formed the moral and political reafon
of mankind«
CHAPTER IV.
Cttltivation of Reafon in Europe^
I N the early ages of chriftianity we obferved numerous fefts, that attempted
to elucidate, apply, and refine the fyftem of religion, through the means of an
mefital philofophy^ as it was called. Thefe were opprefled and perfecuted as he-
retics. The doArine ofManesy which, after the manner of Zoroafter (Zcrdufht),
included a moral inftitution, and the defign of operatbg as an a&ive inftrudor
on the community, feems to have ftruck the deepeft root. This was more
ieverely perfecuted than the<M-etical herefies ; and took refuge eaftwards in the
mountains of Tibet, weftwards in thofe of Armenia, and here and there in
european countries, in all of which it experienced the famefiite as in Afia.
It was long imagined to be fupprcffed, till, in the profundity of the dark
ages, it burft forth, as at a fignal given, from a country whence it was leaft ex-
peded, and at once occafioned a prodigious uproar in Italy, Spain, France, the
Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. This country was Bulgaria -y a bar-
barous province, for which the greek and latin churches had long contended :
there was it's invifible head, who, üx different from the pope of Rome, pro-
fefled to refemble Chrift in poverty. Secret millions went into all parts, and
attraded, not only the common people, efpecially induftrious mecha-
nics and the oppreflcd peafantry, but alfo the wealthy and the noble, parti-
cularly women, with a power, that braved the fevereft perfecution, and death
itfelf. Their placid dodrines, which enforced pure human virtues; induf-
try, chaftity, and orderlinefs, in particular; and held up a pattern of perfedion,
to which the community fliould be led in a very diftinguiflied manner ; were
a loud war-whoop agsunft the prevailing abominations of the church. They
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Chap. IV-] Ctdtivation of Reafon in Ettrope. 621
dircftly attacked the morals of the clergy, their wealth, ambition, and licen-
tioufnefs; rejefted their fuperftitious doftrines and praftices, the immoral
magic of which they denied ; and inftead of all thefe admitted a fimple bene-
diftion by the impofition of hands, and an union of the members under their
leaders, the perfeft. According to them, tranfubftantiation, crucifixes, maffes,
purgatory, the interceffion of faints, and the inherent preeminence of the
romifli priefthood, were human do6krines and inventions. The Scriptures,
particularly of the Old Teftament, they judged very freely, reducing the
whole to poverty, purity of body and mind, quiet induftry, gentlenefs, and
benevolence ; hence in many fedts they received the appellation of bons hommes^
the good people. Among the moft ancient of them the oriental manichcifm is
palpable : they fet out with the conteft between light and darknefs, held matter
for the origin of fin, and entertained very rigid notions of fenfual pleafure. By
degrees their fyfteni was purified. Out of thefe manicheans, who were alfo
called cathars (heretics), patarenes, publicans, paßjgien'y and by various other
names in drffercnt countries, according to local circumftances, individual
teachers, particulariy Henry and Peter de Bruis, formed lefs offcnfive parties ;
till at length thewaldenfes taught, and maintained with great courage, almofl:
every thing, that proteftanifm preached fome centuries after. The eariier fefts
appear to have, refembled the anabaptifts, mennonites, bohemian brethren, and
other fedks of modern times. All thefe fpread themfelves in filence fo power-
fully, and with fuch pcrfuafive impreffion, that the confcquence of the clergy
declined extremely in whole provinces, particularly as thefe were by no means
a match for them in difputation. The countries, in which the provengal Ian-
guage prevailed, were the fpots in which they moft flouriflied : they tranflated
the New Teftament, an undertaking at that time unheard of, into this lan-
guage; publifhcd their rules ofperfe^iion in provcn^al verfe; and were the firft,
who inßruEled and formed the people in their vernacular language^ after the intro-
duäion of the romifh religion *.
On thefe accounts, however, they were perfecuted, as far as tliey were known,
and according to the power poffefled by their enemies. So early as
the beginning of the eleventh century, manicheans were burned at Or- '®^^*
leans, in the heart of France, and among them even the confeflbr of the
queen: they refufed to recant, and died ia the profeffion of their faith.
• Among the writings on thefe feds, of which Kttztr - und Kircbtnbißorit tier minieren Zeit,
ccclefiaflical hiflory gives a full accountj I (hall ' New and impartial Hiftory of Herefics» and of
only mention one book, far lefs known than it the Church in the Middle Age,' 3 vols. 8vo. iiv
dcfervet, J. C. Fneftli's Neut umLunparthtUfibe which very ufcful documents may be found.
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6tz PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BookXX.
They experienced equal fcverity in every country, in which the clergy could
exercife their authority, as in Italy, and the fouth of Germany: but in the
fouth of France, and in the Netherlands, where the magiftrates protedted
them as induftrious people, they lived a long time in peace j till, after various
difputations had taken place, and feveral councils been held, when the
fury of the clergy was wrought to the higheft pitch, the tribunal of the
inquifition was let loofe upon them ; and as their protedor, Raymond count
of Touloufe, a real martyr in the caufc of humankind, would not give them
up, that dreadful croifade, with all it*s fuperabundance of atrocities, burft forth
upon them. The order of friars- eftabliflied to preach againft heref), the do-
minicans, founded exprefsly to oppofe them, were their deteftable judges:
Simon of Montford, the leader of the croifade, was the mod inhuman monfter
the Earth ever bore : and from this corner of France, where the poor tons
hommes had remained concealed for two centuries, the bloody tribunal againft
heretics extended itfcif to Spain, Italy, and mod catholic countries.
Hence the confufion in which the moft oppofite feds of the middle ages
are involved, as they were all indifcriminate objcds of tliis bloody tribunal,
and the perfecutbg fpirit of the clergy : yet hence, likewife, their ftedfaftneß,
and filent fpread, fo that aftec three or four centuries the proteftant reformation
in all countries found the feeds ftill exifting, to which it only imparted a new
vivifying power, WicklifF in England aded upon the loUards, as Hufs did
upon his bohemians ; for feds of this pious kind had long abounded among
the bohemians, whofe language and that of the bulgarians were the fame. The
germe of truth now planted, and the decided hatred to fuperftition, the ado*
jation of mortals, and the infolent, ungodly clergy, were incapable of being
again trodden under foot : the francifcans, and other orders, which, as exam«
pies of poverty and the imitation of Chrifl, were fet up in oppofition to thefe
ü^dts, to overturn and fupprefs them, were fo far from accomplilhing this end,
even among the people, that they rather afforded frefh occafion for fcandal.
Thus the future downfel of the chief of tyrants, the hierarchy, proceeded from
the meaneft beginnings, from fimplicity and fincerity s thefe (imple bims hommes^
though not without their prejudices and errours, certsdnly ufed more freedoni
of fpeech in feveral refpeds, than many of the reformers could afterwards yen*
ture to employ.
What plain common fenfe did on the one hand, was promoted not ineffec-
tually, though more flowly and with greater refinement, on the other, hy/pecu^
lative reafon. In the fchools of the convents the pupils were taught to difpute
on St. AufUn and the logic of Ariftotle; and accuftomed themfelves to this
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Chap. IV.] Cultivation o/Rea/on in Europe. 623
art, as a literary trial of fkill. The cenfarcs paffed on this liberty of difputa*
tion, as an ufclefs exercifc of the middle ages, are therefore unjuft : for this
liberty, at that period, was ineftimable. In thcfe deputations many things
could be controverted, and fifted by oppofing arguments, for the pofitive or
pradical queftioning of which the times were not yet ripe. Did not the refor-
mation itfelf begin by mcn*s taking (heiter under the laws of difputation, and
claiming the proteftion of it's licence? As the monaftic fchools became uni-
verfities, that is theatres of controverfy, 'protected by the papal and impe-
rial licence, a wide field was opened, for exercifing and improving the language,
prefence of mind, wit, and fagacity, of learned polemics. There is not an ar-
ticle of divinity, or a fubjeft of metaphyfics, that has not occafioned the moft
fubtile queftions, difputes, and diftinftions, and in time been fpun out to the
fineft thread. This finefpun texture naturally poffeffcd lefs (lability, than that
coarfe web of pofitive traditions, to which an implicit faith was required : and
being fabricated by human Reafon, it could be unravelled and deftroyed by
that fame Reafon, as the work of her own hands. Thanks, tlicrcfore, to that
fubtile fpirit of difputation of the middle ages; and to every fovereign, who
erefted palaces for it's learned webs ! If many of the difputants were pcrfe-
cuted from motives of envy, or from their own want of caution ; if, after their
death, their bodies were difintcrred from confecrated ground ; ftill the art, on
the whole, continued it's progrefs, and greatly improved the weapons of reafon
in Europe.
As the fouth of France was the firft permanent ftage of an emerging popular
religion, it's northern part, efpecially in the celebrated parifian fchool, was the
XYitzirt oi /peculation and fcholaßic philofopky. Here Pafchafius and Ratramnus
lived : Scotus Erigena found favour and a refidence in France: Lanfranc and Be*
rcngarius, Anfelm, Abelard, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura,
Occam, and Duns Scotus, the morning ftars and funs of fchool philofophy,
taught in France, either the whole of their lives, or during their beft years:
and men of all countries flocked to Paris, to learn this chief wifdom of the
times. Whoever had rendered himfelf famous in this fucceeded to pofts of
honour in church and ftate : for fcholaftic philofophy was fo far from being
excluded from political affairs, that Occam, who had defended Philip the fair,
and Lewis of Bavaria, againfl the pope, could fay to the emperor, ^ defend me
with the fword, I will defend you with my pen.' The french language is in-
debted for its fuperiour philofophical precifion to this circumftance among
others, that ready and fubtile difputation was fo long and fo much purfued iir
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624 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, [Book XX.
it*s native country ; for it was allied to the latin» and eafily adapted itfelf to the
expreflion of abftraft ideas.
That tie trcnßation of the works of Arifiotle contributed more than any thing
to the fubtile philofophy of the fchools is evident, from the authority this gne-
cian fage retained in all the feminaries of Europe for feveral centuries : but the
caufes of the avidity, with which his writings, borrowed chiefly from the aiabs,
were fludied, are to be fought in thedifpofition and way of thinking of the age, not
in the croifades. The firft ftimulus Europe received from the fciences of the
arabs arofe from their mathematical performances, and the fecrcts men hoped
to find in them for the fupport and prolongation of life, the attainment of im-
menfe riches, and the knowledge of mutable deftiny. The philofopher's (lone,
and the elixir of immortality, were fought after; future events were read ia
the ftars, and even mathematical inftruments confidered as implements di
magic. Thus men purfued the wonderful like children, and were prompted
by it to the moil arduous journeys ; a purfuit, which, difappointed of it's ob-
je6l, was deftined to be rewarded with the future acquifition of truth. As
early as the eleventh century, Conftantine the african, had fpent 39 years in tra-
velling from Carthage over the eaft, to colledh the fecrets of the arabs in Baby-
lon, India, and Egypt. At length he came to Europe, and as a monk at
Mount Cafino tranilated many writings, particulaiiy medical, from the arabic
and the greek. However defedlivc the tranflations may have been, they came
into many hands, and the firft fchool of phyfic at Salernum arofe to great
fame, by the help of arabian knowledge. Such of the french and englifli as
were eager after learning repaired to Spain, that they might enjoy the benefit
of being inftrudked by the moft celebrated arabian teachers. On their return
they were confidered as magicians, and even boafted of various (ecret arts as
the cffefts of magic. Thus mathematics, chymiftry, and phyfic, were intro-
duced into the moft celebrated fchools of Europe, partly in writings, partly in
difcoveries and praäical experiments. But for the arabs, no Gcrbert, no Al-
bertus Magnus, Arnold of Villa Nova, Roger Bacon, Raymund LuUy, &c.
would have arifen. Even the emperor Frederic II, who contributed with in-
defatigable zeal, to promote the tranflation of arabic works, and the revival of
every fcience, was not perfcdlly free from fuperftition in his attachment to
learning. The propenfity to travel, or the rumour of travels to Spain, Africa,
and the eaft, where the moft valuable fecrets of nature were to be learned from
retired fages, prevailed for centuries : many fecret orders, and numerous con-
fraternities of travelling fcholars, arofe from this; and indeed the whole a(pe& of
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Chap. IV.] CuJthatwn o/Reqfon in Europe. 625
Che philofophlcal and mathematical fciences betrayed this arabian origin evea
beyond the epoch of the reformation.
No wonder, that m^iflicifm united with fuch a philofophy, thus moulding
itfclf to one of the molTrefined fyftems of contemplative pcrfeftlon. Even in
the firft chriftian church myfticifm had pafled from the modern platonic phi«
lofophy into feveral fefts ; the tranflation of the fpurious Dionyfius the areopa-
gite introduced it into the monafteries of the weft, many fedts of the manicheans
were infedled with it ; and at length, with and without the aid of the fcbolaftic
philofophy, it attained a degree of coniiftency among the monks and nuns, in
which it difplayed fometimes the moft fubtile (bphiftry of human rearon,at others
the moft refined tendernefs of the enamoured heart. This, however, was not
without it*s benefits, as it called off the mind from mere ceremonial worfhip»
accuftomed it to enter into itfelf, and animated it with mental food. It af-
forded the languifhing, folitary mind, feparated from this World, confolation
and exercife, while it refined the fentiments by a fort of fpiritual romance. It
was the precurfor of the metaphyfics of the heart, as the fchool philofophy
prepared the way for that of the underftanding, and each ferved as a counter«
poife to the other. Happy /or us, that the time is almoft paft^^in wbieh^ the
ufe of this Qfiifge is requifite as a medicine*.
hsilRXy^ the fcience qf JuYi/prudehi^TEis praftical philofophy of the fenfe of
juftice and found reafon, when it began to (bine with frefh light, contributed
more than myfticifm and fpeculative philofophy to the welfare of Europe, and
the firm eftablifhment of the rights of fociety. In the ages of honourable fim*
plicity few written laws were requifite ; and the rude germanic nations pro-
perly ftrove againft the fubtilties of the roman jurifls : more polifhed and partly
corrupted countries found written laws of their own, and foon an abftraft of
the roman law, altogether indifpenfable. And as this at length became infuffi-
cient in oppofition to a progrefTive papal jurifprudence, increafing with every
century, it was not amifs, that the whole code of roman law fhould be brought
forward) to exercife the judgment and underftanding of enlightened and adive
men. With good reafon did the emperors recommend this ftudy, particu«
larly in the higher feminaries of their italian dominions : for it was a fchool of
arms againft the pope, and all rifing free-ftates were equally interefted in avail-
ing thcmfelves of it, againft the pope, the emperor, and their petty tyrants.
Accordingly the number of lawyers increafed aftonifhingly : as knights in the
realm of literature, as defenders of the liberty and property of nations, they
• After 8^ that hat hten written by Poirec, myilicifm, particolariy of the middle ages. corn-
Arnold, and ptäers, we ftill want a hiAory of pofed in a truJ/ phUofophical fpirit.
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626 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
were highly refpefted in courts, in cities, and in the chair of learning; and o&
their account the much frequented city of Bologna was efteemed the feat of
learning.
The rife of the law rendered Italy what France was in the philo(bphy of the
fchools : the old roman and the canon law contended againft each other : evea
feveral popes were men of the greateft emmence in jurifprudence. Pity, that
the reanimation of this fcience happened at a time» when the (burces were impure»
and the ipiiit of the old roman law couki be feen only through a mift. Pity,,
that the fubtile philofoßhy of the fchools arrogated to itfelf this praAical
Science, and perverted the decifions of the intelligent by a captious play upoa
words. Pity too, that an auxiliary ftudy, an cxercife of the judgment on
the model of the fages of antiquity, fliould have been taken as a pofitive
rule, as the goijpel of the law, in all cafes, even the moft novel, and far«
theft from being determined. Hence arofe that fpirit of chicane, which ia
time nearly extinguifhed the charafter of almoft every national legiilation in
Europe. Barbarous book-learning aflumed the place of a livmg knowledge of
things: legal procefTes became labyrinths of form and quibble: inftead of a
noble fentiment of juftice, men*s minds were turned to artifice and cunning,
which rendered the language of the laws and of the courts perplexed and ua«
Sntetligtble, and ultimately, in conjunction with the triumphant power of the
magiftrate, favoured a fpurious paramount right of the fovereign. The con*
fequencea of this have long continued to be felt.
Were we to compare the ftate of the human mind on it's reawaking in Europe
with fome of the more ancient times and nations, it would afford a melancholy
profpeft. Every thing good rifes tremblingly from rude and ftupid barbarifm,
under the prelTurc of fpiritual and temporal tyranny : here, the beft feeds are
trodden down on the ftony (oil, or fcattered by the plundering birds; there»
the young plants rife with dUKculty amid the thorns, and are choked or fbunted»
as they want the favourable foil of ancient goodnefs and fimplicity. The firft
popular religion appeared amid perfecuted and in fome degree fanatical here*
tics ; philofophy, in the theatres of difputing logicians ; the moft uüeful
fciences, as magic and fuperftition ; the guidance of the human paffions> as
myfticifm; an improved political fyftem, as the patched and caft-ofF mantle of
along fuperannuated and heterogeneous legiilation *. and through theie Europe
was to raife herfelf from a ftate of the utmoft confufion, and form herfelf anew.
What the foil wanted, however, in depth of fertile mould i the implements and
auxiliary means, in utility; the air, in feienity and freedom; was compenfated,
probably, by the extent of the field to be cultivated, and the value of the plants
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Chap. IV.] Culttvatm ofRiafin in Europe. 627
\o be produced. Not an Athens, or a Sparta, but an Europe was here to be
formed ; and this not to the kahkagatkie of a grecian philofopher or artift, but
to a reafon and humanity, that in time fliould embrace the World. Let ut
fee what inftitutions have been framed for this, what difcovcries have boeo
fcattered in the darkneis of ages, to be ripened by futurity.
CHAPTBR V.
Inftitutions and Difcovcries in Europe.
1, The cities of Europe are become as it were fixed camps of cultivation»
workfliops of induftry, and the commencement of an improved political eco-
nomy, without which this country would be ftill a dcfert. In all the territo-
ries of the roman empire, thefc cities retained fome portion of the roman arts;
and in countries, which the romans had never poflefled, they were mounds op-
pofing the incurlion of frefli barbarians, and the afylums of men, of trade, of
arts, and manufaftures. Praifed for ever be the fovereigns, who founded»
endowed, and proteAed them : for with them were founded conftitutions, that
firft gave public fpirit room to breathe; ariftocratico-democratical bodies were
formed, the members of which watched over each other, were often mutual
enemies and opponents, and on this very account unavoidably promoted the
common fecurity, emulative induftry, and progreflive exertion. Within the
walls of a city, all that could awaken and give confiftency to invention, dili-
gence, civil liberty, economy, policy, and order, according to the times, was
condenfed together in a narrow fpace : the laws of many cities are mafter-
pieces of civic wifdom. Through the means of cities, nobles, as well as com«
munities, enjoyed the firft title of common liberty, dtizenßip. In Italy re-
publics arofe, which went farther through the means ef their trade, than Athens
and Sparta had ever gone : on this (ide the Alps, not only did individual cities
diftinguifh themfelves by induftry and commerce, but alliances were formed
between them, and ultimately a commercial ftate, which extended over the
Euxine and the Mediterranean, the Atlantic ocean, the North Sea, and the
Baltic. Thefc cities lay in Germany, the Netherlands, and the northern king-
doms, Poland, Pruffia, Ruffia, and Livonia. Lubec was their head, and the
chief trading towns of England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, joined their
aflbciation ; torming perhaps the moft efficacious alliance, that ever exifted.
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628 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Boor XX.
This contributed more to pve Europe the form of a commonwealth, thait all
the croifades and romifli rites -, for it rofe fuperiour to religious or national
diftindions, and founded the connexion of ftates on mutual advantage, emu-
lative induftry, probity, and order. Cities accomplifhed what was beyond the
power of princes, prietts, and nobles : they formed of Europe one common co-
operative body.
2. The guilds in cities, troublefome as they often were to the magiftracy,
and even to the growing arts, were at that time indifpenfable, as little common-
wealths, as aflbciated bodies, in which all were anfwerable for each, to the fup-
port of honeft trade, the improvement of the arts, and the honour and efteem
of the artifts thcmfelves. By their means Europe became the manufafturer of
all the produftions of the Globe ; and thus, though the fmalleft and pooreft
quarter of it, obtained an afcendancy over the reft. To it's induftry Europe
is indebted for the produftion of wonders from wool and flax, hemp and filk,
hair and fkins, earth and clay. Hones, metals, plants, juices, and colours, afhes,
falts, rags, and excrement, which again ferved as means to produce other won-
ders. If the hiftory of inventions be the greateft praife of the human intelledl ;
guilds and corporations have been their fchool ; as by the (eparation of the
arts, and methodical regularity of inftruftion, by the mutual emulation of
many, and by the ftimulus of want, things were produced, which the favour
of the fovereign or the ftate fcarcely knew, feldom promoted or rewarded, and
rarely if ever excited. Difcipline and order produced them under the (hade of a
peaceful city government : the moft ingenious arts arofe from mechanical la-
bours and enterprifes, the garb of which they long wore, particularly on this
fide the Alps, not to their difadvantage. Let us not ridicule, therefore, or
pity the formalities and introdudtory fteps of every fuch praftical regulation ;
for with them were conncfted the elTence of art, and the common honour of
artifts. The monk and the knight had far lefs need of initiatory degrees than
the aftive artificer, for the perfeftion of whofe work the whole fraternity was
in fome meafure anfwerable : for to every thing, that bears the name of art,
nothing is fo detrimental as underhand dealings, and the want of a fenfe of
honour anfing from being mafter of it; by which the very foundations of the
art are fapped.
Let us honour, therefore, the mafterworks of the middle ages, which evince
how much arts and trades are indebted to cities. Gothic architefture would
never have attained it's flourifhing ftate, had not republics and wealthy com-
mercial cities fo eagerly rivalled each other in townhalls and cathedrals, as once
the cities of Greece in temples and ftatues. In each we can difcern whence
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Chap. V.] Inßitutiöns and Difcoveries hi Europe. 619
the models of it's taftc were derived, and the country to which the ftream of
it's commerce flowed : the moft ancient edifices of Venice and Pifa difplay a
diflFerent ftyle of architedkure from thofe of Milan or Florence. The tranfal-
pine cities followed various models ; but, on the whole, the better gothic ar-
chiteAure is moft eafily explicable from the conftitutions of the cities, and
the fpirit of the times. For as men live and think, fo they build and in-
habit : foreign models they can copy only after their own manner, as every
bird conftrufts her neft conformably to her figure, and mode of living.
The boldeft and moft ornamental gothic architedture would never have
taken place in convents, or in the caflles of knights: it is the peculiar mag-
nificence of public communities. In like manner, the moft valuable works of
art of the middle ^es difplayed the coats of arms of families, communities,
and cities on metals, ivory, glafs, wood, tapeftry^ or veftments ; on which ac-
count they have in general a p^manent intrinfic worth, and are juftly an ina*
fienable property of cities and families. Thus civic induftry wrote chronicles»
alfo i in which, it is true, the writer's houfe, family, trade, and city, are hi*
World : but then his heart and foul are proportionally engaged in his fub-
jcftj and happy the country, that can frame it's hiftory from many fucb, and
not from the chronicles of monks. In the councils of cities, too, the roman
juri(prudence was firft wifely and efficaciouily reftrifted ; otherwife it would
have ultimately ftifled the beft ftatutes and rights of nations.
3. Univerßties were literary cities and corporations r they were inftituted
with fimilar rights, as commonwealths, and participate their merits. Not as
ichools, but as political bodies, they weakened the barbarous pride of the nobi-
lity, fupported the caufe of fovereigns againft the pretenfions of the popes^
and opened the way to political fervices and rank for a properly learned clafs-,
inftead of the exclufive clergy. Never, perhaps, did men of learning enjoy
more efteem, than at the firft dawn of fcience : men beheld the mdifpenfable
value of a good they had long defpifedi and as one party dreaded the light,
the other more eagerly hailed tlie rifing mom. Univerßties were fortreflfcs and
bulwarks of fcience againft the belligerent barbarifm of ecclefiaftical tyranny :
they at leaft guarded a treafurc, of which the value was but half known, for
better times. After Theodoric, Charlemagne, and Alfred, we would particu-
larly honour the alhes of the emperor Frederic II j who,, among his various
merits, poflefles that of having ^ven univerfities an impulfe toward improve*
ment, the effefts of which were not tranfient. In thefe inftitutions Germany
has become as it were the centre of Europe : in it the arfenals and ma^zines
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630 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [BoocXX.
of fcience have acquired the greateft internal abundance, as weU as the taoSt
durable form.
4. Laftly, we (hall enumerate a few of the difcoveries» which, carried into
praftice, became powerful implements in the hands of pofterity. The magnet'
lie needle^ the guide of navigation, was probably introduced into Europe by the
arabs, and firft brought into ufe by the merchants of Amalfi, in their early com-
mercial intercourfe with them. With this the World was put into the hands
ofeuropeans. The genoefe foon ventured into the Atlantic: and afterwards
the portuguefe evinced, that they poflefled not the weftern Ihores of the old
World in vain. They fought and found a way round Africa, and thus changed
the courfe of the whole indian trade : till another genoefe difcovered a fecond
hemifphere, and thus gave a new &ce to all the relations of our part of the
Globe. The little implement of thefe difcoveries came into Europe with the
dawn <£ fcience.
Giafsy an early commodity of the afiatics, which was once eftimated at it's
weight in gold, has become of more value than gold in the hands of euro«
peans. Whether it were Salvino, or fome other, who poliflied the firft
Jens, he thus formed the beginning of an inflrument, deflined after- '^55*
wards to difcover millions of celeftial worlds, reguhite time and navigation, and
aflifl: the nobleft fciences the human mind can boaft. Already Rc^er
Bacon, the francifcan friar, in his cell difcovered wonders, in the proper- ' ^^*
ties of light, and in älmoft all the realms of nature, for which he was rewarded
with the hatred of his order, and with imprifonment ; but which were more
happily purfued by others, in more enlightened times. The firfl beamof l^bt
in the mind of this wonderful man fliowed him a new world in Heaven and on
Earth.
GunprweUr alfo, a murderous, yet on the whole a beneficial gif^, was either
brought into ufe by the arabs, or at leaft introduced into Europe by their
writings« Here and there it appears from thefe to have been difcovered by
more than one, and but flowly applied to practical purpofes, when it chang^
the whole face of the art of war. The modern (late of Europe was incredibly
influenced by this invention ; which better fubdued the fpirit of chivalry, than
all the councils that ever were held ; promoted the authority of ibvereigns»
more than any aflemblies of the people; checked the blind fury of perfonally
embittered armies \ and even fet limits to that art of war, to which it g^ve
birth. This and other chymical inventions, above all defbrudive fpirituous
liquors, which the arabs introduced into Europe as nKdicines, and which have
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Chap. V.] Inßitutions and Difcovmes hi Europe. 03 s
fincc (pread themfclvcs as poifons throughout the wide World, conffitute
cpochas in the hiftoiy of the human fpecies.
The fame may be laid of the preparation of paper from rags, and the
prototypes of printing in cards, and otiier impreffions of immoveable cha-
rafters. That probably owed it's origin to the paper fabricated from
cotton, and from filk, which the arabs brought out of Afia : this proceeded
by flow fteps from one attempt to another, till, from wooden cuts and types^
the printer and copperplate engraver produced the moft important effedts on
our quarter of the globe. The arithmetical figures of the arabs j the mufical
notes invented by Guido of Arezzo; clocks ^ for which we are indebted to Afia;
oil-paintmg, an ancient g^rman invention ; and other ufeful implements, in-
vented, or adopted and imitated, in various places, before the dawn of fcience ;
almoft always became, in the hothoufe of european induftry, feeds of new things
and events for future ages.
CHAPTER VI.
Cmelufion»
How, therefore, came Europe by it'is cultivation, and the rank it obtained
by it above other countries ? Time> place, neceffity, the ftate of affairs, the
fh-eam of events, impelled it to this : but, above all, it's peculiar induftry in the
artSf the refult of many common exertionSy procured it this rank..
I. Had Europe been rich as India, uninterfeded as Tatary, hot as Africa,,
ifolated as America, what has appeared in it would never have been produced.
Even in the profoundeft barbarifm it's fituation on the C^obe helped to reftore
k to light; but from it's rivers and feas it derived moft advantage. Take
away the Dnieper, the Don, and the Dwina; the Euxine, Mediterranean, Adrian
tic, Atlantic, Baltic, and North Seas; with their coafts, iflands, and rivers ; the
great commercial league, to which Europe is indebted for it's beft aftivity,
would not have exifted. But as it was, the two great and wealthy quarters of
the Globe, Afia and Africa, embraced their poorer, fmaller fifter j they fent her
their wares and inventions from the remoteft limits of the World, from regions
the eadieft and longeft civilized» and thus whetted her induftry and powers of
invention.. The climate of Europe, the remains of the ancient greek and
roman worlds, affifted all this : and thus^e fovereignty of Europe is founded:
on aäivity and infoentiont on Jcienct and united emulative exertions.
a. The prejjure of the romi/h hierarchy was perhaps a neceflary yoke, an indif-
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«31 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. [Book XX.
penfable bridle for the rude nations of the middle ages. Without it Europe
had probably been the prey of defpots, a theatre of eternal difcord, or even a
mungal wildemefs. Thus as a counterpoife it merits praife: but as the firfl:
and permanent fpring it would have converted Europe into a tibetian eccle-
fiaftic ftate. Adion and reaction produced an ei&£t, which neither party had
intended : want, neceffity, and danger, brought forward between the two a
third ftate, which muft be the life-blood of this great aftive body, or it will run
into corruption. This is the ßate of fcience^ of ufeful aSiivity^ of emulative in-
dußry in the arts ; which ncceffarily, yet gradually, puts an end to the periods
of chivalry and monachifm.
3. Of what kind the modern cultivation of Europe could be is evident from
what has been faid : only a cultivation of men as they were, and were defiroua
of being ; a cultivation, through the means of induftry, arts, and fciences. He»
who needed not, defpifed, or abufed thefe, remained what he was : an univer-
fkl, reciprocating formation of all ranks and nations, by means of education,
laws, and a political conftitution, was not then to be thought of; and when will
it be ? Reafon, however, and the effeftivc joint aÄivity of mankind, keep on
their unwearied courfe ; and it may even be deemed a good fign^ when the
beft fruits ripen not prematurely.
THE END,
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N D E X.
Abassidbs ------ 586, 588
Abderahman - - - - . - 587
Abgarus .-..-. - 503
Abiponians - - - 186, 197, 200, 207
Abyffinians *-.--- 147,508
Acanfas - ------- 161
Accawaws ------- 159
Adolphus, or Ataulf . - ^ - 526
Adrian - ------- 423
^milius •.--.- 390, 413
Africa ------- 16, 23, 25
■ it's animals ------ 37
— it's people ------ 146
Aglabites -.---.-- 587
Agrippa -.423
Agrippina Germanicus - - - - 425
Alans 4Äo»530
Alaric -----.. 525, 526
Albanians ------». 48^
Albinoes ----.-•. jgs
Alboin ------.. jj^
Alcuin --.--... ^^5
Alexander --.--. 387, 392
Alexandria ----..- 509
Alfheim -------- 600
Alfoories -------- 153
Alfred - - ---.-- ^^y
Ali 586,589
AHtes - --...-, 589
Allcraans - 479i538
Al-Mamoun 587, 589
Al-Manfur - ----.. ^y^
Al-Rafchid 587
Al-Waled 586
Amalafvinda - ---.. ^-^a
Amalfi gQ^
Amber, trade in ----.. 5^^
A™«"<^a 18,20,154
A merica, it's mountains, and their effeds 23
— it's animals - - - - - 37
■ it's people - 154, 186, 189, 203
— Spanifli ----- - 529
Amicuans - ------ 165
Ancient artifts «• - - - - -181
Angilbert - - - - - - - 545
Anglo-(axons - - - « - . ^46
Angola negroes ----- -147
Animal kingdom - - - - 35, US
Animals, their ftrud^ure compared with
that of plants - - - - 42
I powers that operate in them - 48
— — — cold-blooded ----- 53
— — warm-blooded - - - - ib.
-' phyfiological ftruÄure of fome 55
■ inftindls of - - - - - 59
— • their advancement to a combi-
nation of ideas - - - - 63
■ refembling man - - 71, 1 65
' organization of their heads - 82
■ benefits man derives from them 205
Anfgarius ------ . ^^^
An/icans - ..---. j^g
Antonia Drufus - - . . , . 42^
Antoninus - - . . . 423
Antony ------- . 424
Apaches ,57
Ape 71
Arabs - - 144, 167, 192,485, 582
■ efFedls of their kingdoms - - 590
■I their commerce - - - - ib.
— -—religion 591
— — language - - - - 592
— ^ — — fciences - - - - ib. 624
— — —— fpirit of chivalry - - - 607
Aratus 3^0
Araucoans - - - - - . _ i^q
Archimedes - *-'----4ii
Arians ^^5
Ariftoüe 380,624
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I N D
Armenia ••.•.... ^05
Armenians - ...... 486
Arnapts •.....-. ^85
Arnulph ..--.... 55^
Arracancfe --.--- - 1^0
Arrowauks ....... -159
Arthur, king -----. . 474.
Arts of the Greeks - - . . - 364
' romans ^ . - - - 429
■ arabs - . - - - - - 596
Arts and fcicnces, their invention - 239
■ — ■ firft cultivated in Afia 267
Afgard - - ••.... 600
Afia, the firfk habitable part of the
Earth -•-.-- 17, 261
— why fo uniform in it's manners - 19
— it's mountains, and their efFeös 23
*'— the moft ancient kingdoms and
ftates formed in the fouth of
it 289
— general reflections on it*s moft
ancient ftates - - - .. 310
i— weftern - - .... 316
Afiatic iilands • -- ---152
Aflamians - - ..... 140
AfTaflins ........589
Aifinipoels - - - . - • . j^^
Afl>ria 318
Aftronomy, (kill of the arabs in - - 595
Ataulf 526,528
Aihclftan ----.-.. 548
Athens 367>.375> 385
AttUa 484>530>53i
Aurelian ..--.---- 423
Aufonians --..---- 398
Auftin 523
*' ' archbifliop of Canterbury, in-
troduced chriftianity into Bri-
tain ---.-.- 546
Azoph .----.- . 600
B.
Babylon " •
Bacon, Roger . • -
Badfchu . . - . -
Bagdad built by Al-Manfur
318
630
»53
587
E X.
Barmas • • . . . 140
Bafiikirians - . . - 476
Bafques .... 469
Bedowcens - - - - 1 67, 207
Bees - . . . .61,63
Beig« 488
Belifariua • - • . . 534
Benedi£lines .... 523
Berbers -...-. 147
Biajoo» ----- 153
Bifhops, rife of their authority • - 520
Bceotia ..... 358
Boethius ..... 534
Bokharians • - .... 143
Bolingbroke . - . - - 395
Boniface, the converter of the gennans 566
Boryfthenes .... 600
Brains confidered ..... 74
Brafdians • ..... 159, 186
Brennus - -.-.--- 471
Britain - - 47»>54^
■ chriftianity introduced into - 546
■■ faxon heptarchy in - - . ib.
■ it's romance - • - - 610
■ fpirit of chivalry in - . - 611
Bruis, Henry and Peter de - - . 621
Brutus, Junius - - .... 423
.— — Marcus ..... ib. 424
Bulgarians ...... 484, 62a
Burats - ....... 138
Burgundians ..... 480,539
Butterfly, it's transformation a beauti-
ful emblem of man's paflage to a fu-
ture ftate - ...... 125
C.
Caefar, Julius - 4I4j 4I5. 4» 7> 4^314*4
— Auguftus - - 422,424,428
CaflFres 28,148
Califbmians .-..-. 168,228
Cambyfes ..... 314
Camillus . - . • . . 423
Canada . - - - . 24
Canary-iflands, people of the • - 204
Cantabri ..... 470
Canute - * .... 548
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INDEX.
Carians - - - - - - 3S6
Caribs - - - . - - 159
Carthage 33^
.— «- it's deftniSioQ - - - 412
Cafhmire . - - - - 141
Cafhaiiriana - • - - ib,
Caffiodonis •. . - - 534
Caterpillar - - - - - 60
Cathars - - - - « 6zi
Catot « • • . . 423
Caufe and tffcßt^ their OMUiexion un*
intelligible to us
Caufes, final, dodrine of - -
Celts ....
Cervantes . .^ - -
Ceflares ....
Chaaaws ...
Chaldea ....
Charlemagne .... 536>54<>9542
Charles Martel - - - - 54^
Chazars . - - - -
CheremiiTcs - - . »-
Cheroicees - - ...
Chickafaws . - . -
China 290,
Chinefe - - - - -
■ their mythology . - -
Chippewaws *. - - -
Chivalry . . - - -
■■ did not arife firom the croifades 616
Chrift 49«
Chriftianity .... - 434» 490
■ ■ it's orgin and fundamental
principles - - -
■ — propagation in the eaft -
■ — progreis among the
greeks - -
■ — ■ ■ in the latin pro.
vinces - - -
■ — martyrs - . . -
Chriftinoh's - . - -
Chryfoftom - ^ . -
Chymiftry, derived from the arabs -
Cicero 423,424,426
Cimbri .... ^73, 47^489» 546
Cincinnatus - - « . - 423
Circaffians - - • • - I43
627
234
434
470
608
161
>57
318
476
475
155
»55
302
139
270
155
605
49*
500
509
517
518
»55
514
596
Cities of Europe - - . - .
Civilization} it's firft rudiments intro-
duced by religion - 253
howeffeaed - - . 31X
Climate, what, and it's efFe£b on
149» i7a*-87
176
539
540
299
18s
539
630
100
475
»47
421
513
515
508
»4
300
423
ib.
423
•»—— altered in fome meafure by
man . - - - .
Qotilda . . . - -
Clovis - - . . -
Cochin.China ....
Colonifts,eßeds of climate on them -
Columbanus ....
Commerce,y^/ Tradet
Compais, it's invention ....
Compaffion excited moft powerfully
through the ear - - ...
Condian oftiacs - . - . . -
Congo negroes . . . - -
Conquefls, their efFe^ - . - -
Conftantine ....
Conftantinople ....
Copts .....
Cordilleras . . . - -
Corea .....
Coriolanus ....
Cornelia ....
Cornutus .--....
Corporations . - . - 581,628
Corvey - . . . . 556
Cofinopolite, his feelings - - - 222
Country, native, attachment to - 1 68— x 7 1
Courlanders .... 4^5
Craflus ..... 41^
Creation - ^ . . 8
■ ■■' aftatic traditions concerning
it .... - •
Cretans . . - . -
Criticilhi . . . - .
Croifiules .....
— — account of them and their
confequences - .....
Cultivation • • . • **9}3iii394
Curds * .... 587
Cyprians - ... 356
Cyrus .... - 324
270
356
382
599
612
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Google
INDEX.
D.
Damafcus - - - - 590
Danes 540, 54«> 553
3*4-
"5
121
126
4^3
370
Darius « . - -
Death . - - -
«— « fimilar to fleep - - -
■ what - - -
Decius - - - -
Delphian oracle - - -
Defpotifm 248, 5881589
Diar 549
Dietrich of Bttn^fet Theodoric.
Dog, varieties of the - - - • 37
Draco 373
Dreams I2i
Dream-feafts . - - - 200
Drufus 4*3
E,
Earth, a ftar among ftars - - - - i
— —- — confidered as a member of
the univerfc - - - - ib.
I ■■■ one of the middle planets - - 3
,. and therefore in a middle (late 4
- - has undergone various revolu»
tions - - - . 7,28,257
, . - - an orb revolving round it's
own axis and the Sun - - 9
■ various, yet uniform - - - ib.
it's atmofphere - - - 13, >73
* it's habitable furface framed on
ridges of mountains
- . efFe^s of the diredions of it's
mountains - - - -
■ a manufadory for the organi-
zation of different beings
- it's vegetable kingdom -
■ ftage of man*s preparation for
another world - - - -
. I peculiarly formed for it's ani-
mate creation
15
^3
26
29
128
Earth, mofaic account of it
■ it's creation and order
Ebionites - - -
Ecclefiaftical afTemblies * -
Ecliptic, obliquity of the
Edda ....
Edefla - . - -
Edgar - -
Edmund Ironfide
Edrifiatcs - - - -
- 274
' - 443
- 500
- 497
- II
481, 55a
- 503
- • 548
. . . 587
Egbert 547
Eginetans ----- 356
Eginhart ----- 545
Egyptians - - - - 146, 342
their mythology - - 2729 281
Elephant, phyfiological ftrudure of the 55
- 355
England
— — — fet Britain«
Ennius
Epi^etus 1
Errour, it's fource
Eflcimaux •
Efihonians
Ethelbert
Etruicans
Euclid -
Europe
- - 4a»
- - - 4^
. - 198
i33»>35»i4Stao3
475
547
- - 398
- - 38«
- - 20
191
264
469
487
55*
257
afiatic traditions of it's creation 270
date of the poor in - - -
peopled from Afia - - .
it's ancient nations . - -
general obfervations on them
> it's northern kingdoms - -
efFe^ of the romifb hierarchy in '571
. fway of the pope in - - - 576
adminiilrationof juftice in the
middle ages in - - - - 579
it's phyfic - - - - - ib.
— fciences ----- 580
. — arts - - - - lb.
and trade, in die middle ages 581
general refledions on it's fttte
at that period - - - - 597
it's commercial fpirit - * 599
' — • fpirit of chivalry • - 605
> cultivation of reaibn in - . 620
• inilitutions and difcovcrics in 627
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INDEX.
Europe, it's fuperiority over other
countries - - - - 631
Europeans 143, 144, 191, 241,2559 3iO> 339
Evil, deftroys itfelf ----- 326
■ produces good . - - - 448
F.
Fabii, the • - - . 423
Fabius • - - - - ib,
Fabrlcius - - - - ib.
Faith - - . •. * 303
Fatimites - - . - 587
Feeling - - - - - 189
Fez founded - - -i - 587
Fins - - - . * 475
Five nations - - • • 155
Florence - - - - • 603
Foetus, aiFe^ed by the bodily and mental
afFedions of the nioth<.A - - - 183
Food of animals and man - * 33) 1 16
Foulies ----- 147
France, it's poetry ----- 609
■ ■ ■ and romance - - - - ib,
■ I I ■ fpirit of chivalry in - - - 610
I cultivation of reafon in . - - 623
Franks - - - ^80, 540, 548
Frederics, emperors of Germany 557, 581,
624
Friendfliip - - « - 217
Frifons - . - - . 548
Fulda 556
Funeral rites - - - . 254
Gael - - .
Gagas,y// Jagas.
Galatians -
Galba
Gall, St.
Gaul
Gauls - -
Gaurs
Genetic power
Geneva • a
470, 489
- - 471
- - 415
• - 539
415
398, 470, 540
142
- 177-87
: = 539
Genghis-khan -
Genoa
Gcnfenc
Georgia -
Oermanicus
Germans
- • - 4»S
603
- 530
50s
423
. - - 213, 477, 489» 55*
their women - - - 556
their inftitutions in Europe 557
554
it*s imperial dignity - 556, 576
- - - 516 note
- - - 486
Germany
Gibbon
Gipfics
Glafs, it's invention - «. - . 336
— — importance - - * - 630
Globe, no fifth quarter of the - - 21
Gnoftics - - . - 501
God, wifdom and goodnefs o^ paßnu
Godfrey of Bouillon - - - - 613
Goths - . - - . 472
Government - - 217, ^124, 244,450
Gracchi, the - • - « 423
Gracchus, Tiberius • - - - 415
Grecian head - - - - 80
Greece ----- 355
■ it's iituation - • - 3^^
■ — peopling - - - 357
language - - - - 359
■ ' — mythology - - - - 360
■ — poetry - - - lb.
■ ■ — arts - - - - ^ - 364
■ — moral and political wifdom 370
■ — fcience - - - - 377
■ ' — revolutions - - - 384
■ — war with Perfia - - 387
I ■ general reflexions on it's hiflory 391
■■ ravaged by Rome - - - 413
Greek language ----- 508
Greeks - - - . 144, 516
■ progrefs of chriflianity among
them ----- 509
Greenlanders - - - - 133
■ ■■■ their attachment to their
country - - - 169
■■■ their theology and natural
philofophy
Gregory, pope
Guaranees
- 194
5^4» 546
192
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INDEX.
Guinea -
Gundebald
Gunpowder
H.
148 Inftitutions fliould vary with circuin«
539 ftancc» 374
630 Intolerance - ««.•• to
Invention . • - . . 249
Ireland ...... 549
Italy, it's poetry - - - . • 609
Hannibal
Hanfeatic league
Hailkn
Hearing
Hebrews
Heerban
Hellenes -
Hengift and Horfii
Henry the Fowler
Heretrians
Heruli •
Hieroglyphics
Hindoos
■ dieir mythology «
Hindoftan
Hiftorians, greek
■ roman
■ arabian
383
594
Homer ------- 360
Hottentots . - - . . 148, 204
Humanity - - . « - - 98
Hungarians ... - 475^ 47^1 555
Hungary, a king of, created by the
pop« 577i 578
Huns . - - . 480, 484. 485> 531
L
Kafik
Kalmucs
Kamtfchadales
Kcttil
Kingdom of Heaven -
Kiow . . -
Knights, various orders of -
Koran, the - -
Koriacs - - -
Kuriles
603
i37i 165, 167, 19a
- - - 140
- 553
- 49»
482,549
- 616
- 584
- 140
- ib.
Iberians
Icebnd - •
Ideas
— * whether innate
Igolots . . .
Igurians
Illyrians • . •
Inanimate nature
Indolence
Ingrians
Inquiiition
Infeas ...
Inftin^s
. . . 398
... 549
. ... 118
- - - - aoo
- - - - 153
- . - 480
- ... 398
. . - 26,63
- - - 10
- - 475
5a7>529>57^622
- - 52,60,63
. . . 59
Ladrones - - - . .
Language the fpecial mean of nun's
improvement . . . .
Languages of Ada . ^ . .
Laos - ~. • . •
Laplanders - - • • •
203
- 23a
. 265
- 299
135« 475
Latin, efFeds of it's general ufe . 575
Latins ..... 402
Law, municipal . • - • ^82
Lawj, obedience to them the funda-
mental principle of political virtue . 375
LcJ«g« 357
Lefbians • . - • . 356
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Google
INDEX.
Lettpnians •». - ..476 Man, his brain confidered - * • j^^
Limofin poetry . - - - 608 — — organized for more perfe^^fenfes.
Lion, phyfiological ftrudure of the - 56 art, and language ... 85
Lithuania, it's duchy - . - - 549 — ' his capacity for fcTf-defcnce - 86, 98
Lithuanians - ... - 476 — importance of fpeech to him - 87
Livia - - ... 425 .— organised to finer inftin^b, and
Livonians - - « • . 47^ freedom of a^on - 89
Loango - - • - - 148 — ■ to the moft delicate
Lollards ..... 622 i^ateofhealthy yetlongdurabi.
Lombards - - . . - 535 lity, and to fpread over the
Lombardy ..... 604 Earth - . . . - 95
Louifiana - - - - . 24 — formed for humanity and reli-
Lucretius ..... 428 gion - - - . 98, 438
Lucullus ..... 41^ «... bom for fociety - - - . loi
Luxury .... - 420 — formed for the hope of immor«
Lycurgus 373 tality - - - - - 105
Lydians ------ 356, 357 -•— hat an immortal foul . 107*31
■' the fphere of his organization a
M. fyflem of fpiritual powers - ny
•-— • is at preient only in a prepara-
Macedonians . - - . - 387, 485 tory ftate - - - - . 123
Madnefs - - - - - 118 — — his prefent ftate probably the
Magyars * . - . . 475,476 conneding link of two worlds- 127
Mahrattas - - - - . 17 — — fubjed to fuperior guidance . 120
Mallicollefe - - - - - 165 •-^— artificial alterations of his fi-
Maloches 160 gure - 139,156,180,220
Mamalukes .... . 587, 613 — - regions in which he is well-
Man, ihould be fatisfied with his formed • . . - . 141
place -.-.--. 2 —— eifÄs of climate on him 149, 172-87
— propel obje£l of his inquiry . ib, — his organization in the iilands
■ - his eilence immortal • 3, 107 of the torrid zone . - - 252
.— hints refpeding his foture ftate - 6^ 87 -— ^ divifible into varieties only, not
*— • his firft abode . ... 17 ipecies - . • . . 26?
..-— his fpread over the Earth - . ib. ^— has altered climates - - . 176
— his fimilitude to a plant - - 29 "— '^ow he degenerates . - - 179
— derived knowledge from the ani- *— Ws appetites vary with his form
mats that preceded him . 36,205 and climate - . • . |88
— — ofa middle kind among animals - 39 «-^ his imagination organic and cli-
-..— the moft perfed of them - . 40 matic, but led by tradition . 194
— — his organization compared with — b« praÄical underftanding . 202
that of plants and animals - 42 — — bis feelings and inclinations - 208
i— wants organs to perceive many — his charader fhown in hit treat-
things - - - ... 50 «»«nt of women - . - 212
^— his organic difference from ^— hishappincß - - - - • 218
bcafts - - - -67,71,79 — dependant on others for the de-
—— his upright pofture . - . ib, velopcmcnt of his faculties . 225
-^— organized to a capacity of rea- — language the fpecial mean of
foning - - . ..-71 his improvement - - - 232
Digitized by
Google
A
INDEX.
257
259
259
«70
- «74
aSs
Man, not the remnant of a former
world - . - -
«-— place of his formation and moft
ancient abode - - - -
•-— • only a fingle pair created at firft
■ afiatic traditions of his origin -
^— • moft ancient writer's tradition
of his origin
•— — caufes of his happinefs and mi-
fery - - - - -
•— — becomes erery thing that cir-
cumflances will allow him to
be 348,391
•— — perplexities in his)iiftory * - 436
■ humanity his end - . . 438
i— *« his welfiire founded on reafon
andjuftice • • . -
■■ reafon and juftice muft gain
more footing in him
*— • his fisite difpofed by wife good-
ncfs - . - -
»..— aded upon by teaching« autho«
rity, and religious ceremonies
Mandingoes - - - -
Manicheans - - • - 502,
Marccllus -----
Marcus Aurelius - . - .
Marius • - -
Marriage - - - -
Martyrs -----
Materialifts, fallacy of their argu*
ments - - - - ,
Maternal love - - - - lOi, 215
Matter and fptrit, different, but not
eflcntially oppofite - - - - no
Mcdcs 3H
Meifterfingcrs ----- 609
Memory - - - - - 120
Menandcr ----- 428
MefTalina 425
Mctapbyfics - - - - 234
Mexicans - - - - - 157, 186
Milefians ----- 356
Milton ----- 395
Mineral kingdom - - - - 26, 63
Minos ----- 372
Mifrob 505
450
457
462*
SO«
H7
I 620
4^3
428
423
97-8
518
113
Mohammed
Monachifm •
Monarchy •
Morabethiaos
Morduans
• 583
499>5ia,57i»574
- 217,244,382
. - . 587
475
Mofaic account of the creation, and
origin of man - - - . 274
Mofes ----- 330
— -i his fuperiority to all other phi-
lofophers - - - - 274-88
Mofes of Chorene ... 505
Muahcdians - - - - - 587
Mummius . - . - 3^
Mungals - - 137, 167, 300, 485, 587
Mufii 586
Mufic ..--.- 193
Mufkegoes ----- 155
Myfians - - - - - 357
Myfteries . - . . . 25a
Myfticifm ----- 625
Mythologies, national and climatic - 197
■ I afiatic - - . • 270
N.
Naddod - - - - 1
Narfes
Nature promotes various ends at once
■ progreffive - - -
■■ ■ ' ■ not to be forced
■ I compenfates evils
Naudoweflees - - - -
Navigation - - - -
Naxians
Nazarenes
Negroes
Nerva
Nervous fluid
Neftorians
New- Hollanders
Noah's flood
Normans
Norwegians
Novogorod
Nubians
Numa
Numantia
549
534
3«
- 114
- . 187
. 314
- »55
- 460
- - 356
. 500
145, 146, 204
- 423
- 116
- 503
203
286
549,609
548* 553
482,549
. 146
402, 403
- 415
153,
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INDEX.
O. Phidias ----- 365
Occam 623 Philip of Maccdon - . - 387
Oaavia ..... 425 Ph^J°P«"™«n - - ' ' 3^9
Odoacer 533 P^ilofophy of the greeks - - - 377
Olbia eoo ^^«^'^"^ - - - 428
Olof 549 ^^^^5 - - - 59^
Ommiadcs 5^6,590 ^'^°^'^"' 3:6
Orators 376 Phrygians .... 356,357
Order of things progrcffive - - 114 P^y^c of the middle ages . - - 579
univerfal 443 — ^'^^' ' ' ' 596
Oroanization an afccnding chain of rhyliognomy - - - -181
f , , PiliPma-Tcs ... CJ72, C7<;
forms ana powers - - - - 107 ,, - ^ '^ , ^' > j/5
r^ • ^.^1" '^US fraud - . - - AQ7
Orpheus ..... 379 ^'^^ . " " " - - ^^3
Ofkold 549 ^^,*"^'"^ , 425
Ofmans 587 P^nets confidered .... 3
Oflian .... 362,472 Pla"^5,> vegetables, and vegetable
Oftrogoths .... 480! 533 J^'"g<^0"'-
Otaheiteans - - - 153,212 ^^^^"^ 378,380,381
Otto 555,556 ^''"5^ , - - - . - 4^9
Ouran-outang . - . . 7,, 72 Poetry or Greece ... .360
Ox, varieties of the - - - 37 the romans - . .427
' — the arabs and perfians . 593
p^ ■ Provencals ... 608
__ — Spain, France, and Italy . 609
Papoos - - • - . 204 Poifonous vegetables beneficial to man 34
PalTagieri - - . - - 621 Pol a;; regions - - . , - 132
Patagonians - - . - 160 Politics - . - - . aaq
Patarenes . - - - - 621 Polockzki . - - . . ^^^
Paternal love . . - - 216 Polybiiis . - - . - 38^
Paulina - ... - 424 Polygamy - - - - - 2ir
Peace the naturalftate of man - 99,210 Pompey .... aia a27
Pelagius - - - - - 523 Pope, rife of his authority - . - 520
Pclafgians ... - 356, 357, 398 it's progrefs - . >■ . 563
Pepin . - - - . 536 Poplicola - - . . . .23
Pcrmians ... . - 475 Power, overgrown, deftroys itfelf - 327
Perplexities in hiftory . - . 436 Powers, inviilble, an afcendlng feries of 108
Perfians - - .... 142,324 have their organs, but are not
—- their mythology - . 272,281 the organs themfelves . no
■ poetry and language - 593 ■ their compofition progreflive 214
Peruvians - - - -159,186 — — deftruilive, muft yield to the
Peflierays - . - • 203, 228 maintaining, and ultimately
Petrarch ..... 609 fubfervc the confummation
Pctfhencgrins - - - . 476 of the whole ... ^^3
Pevas - - . - -161 Prefter-John - - - . . ^q^
Phenicia - . - - . 336 Printing - - - - 461, 631
Phenicians, their mythology - - 273 Protcftantifm - - - - 621
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INDEX.
Provencals • - - - 608
Pruffians - - - - * 476
Publicans, manicheans fo called - 621
Puelcfaes ----- x6a
Pyramids of Egypt - - - 344
Pythagoras - - - - 378, 379
Ragnwald - - - - -
ReafoD, what - - - -
Regulus - - - - -
Relics
Religion the height of humanity
■- true - - - -
■ the moil ancient and (acred
tradition upon Earth
_ introduced the firft rudiments
of civilization and fcience
Retaliation a law of nature
Rhodians - - -
Richard Cceur-dc-lion -
Roderic, or Rorick
Rolf - - - -
Roman virtue
Romance - - -
Romans - - - - -
I. their hiftory - - -
■ -^ education
■ .-.— i character
Romaunt, or hiftorical poem -
Rome - - - - -
.— — it's foundation - - .
— .— — difpofitions for a fovereign
political and military ftate
— — — fenate - - - -
— generals - - .
— — foldiers . - -
■ — religion • - -
— — •— military art
— — conquefts
I — decline -
»— -•* — fcieiices and arts
549
91
4*3
520
103
104
- 251
»53
416, 445
- 356
- 613
- 549
- - 550
. 407
- 5931609
. . 390
- 397
- - 405
4*3
608
397
402
4^4
- 405
- 406
. ib.
- 408
- 409
- 410
416, 480
- 425
— — general rcfledlions on it's hiftory
and fate - - - 431
■■ ■ ■ progrefs of chriftianity in it and
the latin provinces :, * 5^7
Rome^ irruptions of the northern na«
dons into it's empire - • 525
— — facked by Genferic • - 530
Romifli hierarchy - - - 563
- — — it's effea on Eu-
rope - 571, 631
' -■' ■ temporal pro-
te^rs - 576
Romulus . - • • 403, 404
Rodmund - . - • - 535
Ruflla ... - 485, 598
— — foundation of it's empire - 549
■ it's hiftorical documents • 576
S.
Sabeans
St. John's chriftlans
— Thomas's chriftians
Saladin
Salernum» it's fchool
Samians
Samoiedes -
Sanchoniathon
Saxons - - -
Scxvola, Mutius
Scandinavians
- - 501
- ib.
- 5c8
- 587» 6'S
- SSh 624
. - 356
1361 149» *04
- 272
- 480, 543
- 4*3
- 548, 553
622
Scholaftic difputation, it's benefits
Science» it's firft rudiments introduced
by religion - - - - 253
I of the middle ages - - 580
— — — — arabs . . - 592
Scipio ^milianus - - 412,415
Scipios - - - - ^23
Sea, advantages accruing from it - 355
Sedls .... 235
Seneca • - -
- 4*4» 4*8
Sertorius
- 415
Severus
- 423
Shakfpeare
- - 395
Shawanefe
- - 155
Sheep, varieties of the
- - 37
Siberia - - .
- - 23
Sight ...
. 192
Simon of Montibrd - -
. . 62a
Slave-trade
166, 170
SUvians ...
A^hAh>SS5
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INDEX.
SloA,phyfiologica!ftruaoreorihe - 57 Tckaw» - • . . 157
Socrates 376>379>3^o Tcrcntia. - - • - 4*4
Solitude - - - - - 5" Tcftaccous tnimah - - - 5a
Solomon's temple, fate of it's ipeffels - 531 Teftamcnt, old - - - 274, 333
Solon - - - - - 373 Teutoncs - - - - 478
Soul, immortal 107 Theodolinda - - - 537
— it's medium - - - -ill Theodoric - - . • 533
South-fea Hlandi - - . . 15a Theflaly - . • . 357
Spain 414» 469» 5^6 Thracitnt - - - 356,357>48S
— conquered by the arabs - - 586 TiWet • - - - - 301
— khalifate founded in - - 587 Tibetians - - - . . 204
fpirit of chivalry in - - - 607 ■■ their mythdqgy - 271, 281, 301»
poetry of - - - • 608 5©»
Sparta - - - - 375i 3^5 Titus Vefpafian - • • 423
Spartans 35^ Tonquin - - - - 299
Speech, it's value 87 Totilas - - - - 534
Spider - - - . • 61 Trade of the middle ages > 57'>58k
Spirit and matter different, but not —• arabians - - - 590
effentially oppofitc - - - - no —- — Europe - - - . 599
State, future, hints refpcaing - 6,87 not benefited by the croifades - 615
—— . ■ notincommunicablewith Tradition - - - - 227, 352
the prcfent - - 129 Trajan - . . • - 423
— wifely concealed from Tranfmigration of fouls - - - 309
man's knowledge - 130 Trojans . - - - 357i 39^
States, moft ancient, formed in the Troubadours - - . . 608
fouthofAfia . . - . 289 Tfhoulctfhics . - . - 140
Stephen, pope 536 Tungoofcs 136, 145
Stirik 549 TurJcs ... - I43>485>587
Subadoes - - . • . 15^
Suevi - - . - . 479, 480, 526 ^•
c . . r. " " " " *^« Univerfities - - - . 629
bunnam Indians - . . . - ic8 tt/i. i_ ^
e .^ ^ Ufbeck tatars - - • . ^ 143
Swifs - - - . . ^39 ^^
Sylla .... 390»423>4H V.
Symmachus .... 534
Syncretifm ... - 509 Valeria • - ... 423
Synods - . . « . 4^y Vandals ... 479, 480, 530
Syrans - - . - . 475 Vafcones - - - - 470
Vegetable kingdom - 29,51,63,114
Vegetables, their ftru6lure compared
Tacitus ^ - « . . 426 with that of animals - - - 42
Tanais ..... 600 Venice - - . - 6ci, 603
Tapinamboes . . . . 15^ Veturia .... 423
Tarik . . . . 586 Vincta - . . 482, 483> 553
Tatary . . ^ - 20 Viriatus .... 415
Tehudhets^yi^ PaUgonians. Vifigoths ... 480, 525
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Vital powesijor principle
Voltaire, firidure on
W.
N D E X.
- 178 Writing originated in Afia
- 9 Wulufs
Wallachians - - . 485
War - - 210, 245, 421, 448
WicidifF . . - - 622
William the conqueror - 550, 551
Winifred, fee Boniface.
Winnobagcs - - - - 1^5
Wives burned with their hu(bands - 213
Woguls - - - - 47^
Women - - . 211, 212, 424
Worrows - - • - 159
Wotiacs -
Writing • . -
475
8
230
Xenophon
Yataches
Ywar
Zanguebarians
Zei rites
Zoophytes
Zoroafier
- i6i
- H7
- 324.383
'57
549
. . 14«
- - 587
- 51.63
- 272,317,352
ERRATA.
Page
Line
«4
4
f«r whether
Ttäi whither
iS
5 fr. bot.
Aretched
iketched
^
'3^
corporeaJ
corporal
S6
3 fr. bot.
difclofe
difclofes
119
7 fr. bot.
required
acquired
\%
%%
tihoutfliiet
tihouktihies
9 fr. bot. and 7 . . .
bedoween
V^
13 fr. bot.
il fr. bot.
erer
aaoiher
mother's
aoo
acceptations
acceptation
21S
16
legiflatui*
Icigiflator
:ij
'9
enumeration
notation
IX fr, bot
animalcule
»7»
note
Don
Dow
»94
x8
earth
earthy
3 ©3
**. .
forth
faith
457
10 fr. bot.
is
has
:i2
XI fr. bot.
no
any
x8
arifen ?
arifen 1
474
4
would be
is
if
that
5
were
are
478
^1 , ,
why ihoold
why fliould not
507
X4 fr. bot.
keep
kept
5»9
8 fr. bot.
their altars
the alur
5»^
l
biihop..
biflii'ps
extreme«
extremes»
553
H,
courts
coafts
593
7 fr. bot
became
becomes
l?J
IX
names
name
X iu bot
For
For the reft
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Digitized by
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Digitized by
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CECIL H. GREEN LIBRARY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305-6004
(650) 723-1493
grncircQsulmail.stanford.edu
All books are subject to recall.
DATE DUE
iViAR ^ 2004
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